Popinae
by Tuilen
Summary: An accidental time traveller encounters Rome, Mama Greece, Mama Egypt, Turkey, and their families. A lot of research went into this, so I can assure you it is historically accurate.
1. Losing Time

Reviews are appreciated and loved like my own puppies, especially since this is my first fan fiction and while I don't expect you to excuse any grammatical mistakes because of that, I do want to make sure I'm not going in entirely the wrong direction.

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The warm breeze lazily drifted through the room, bringing a scent of the blue of oceans and the gold of my deserts, tingling the wind chimes with a lemon sound. Someone had left the door open. No one cared- us three were perfectly content on the leather sofa.

_I might be adopted._ I mused, watching the TV. It would make sense. Everyone else in the family was different from me. I had a more 'rural' attitude, but I tried to make my words sound sophisticated, and to that end had learned a few different languages, a trait which unfortunately did not spill over to my citizen. Uncle Arthur, for example, was very fussy about manners, and sitting up straight. I, however, was currently upside-down on the couch. This could be why Arthur was giving me that look. I wish Alfred wasn't meeting Ivan, so Arthur didn't have to babysit. All my brothers and sisters had fled outside to play, but I wanted to stay with my Divina.

"DON'T BLINK!" came a shriek from my right. I winced, but with a smile; my girlfriend, also upside-down, was very focused on the TV to the point of nearly falling over on her head. I know I shouldn't get to off track talking about her, but Divina really is beautiful- the most beautiful green eyes and chocolate hair, her lilting accent, the way when you asked her about her past you could see the Aztec culture in her mind- Ahem. See what I mean? Her country was Mexico, by the way. Uncle gave us both a very severe look. I swear he was yelling 'Shame on You!' in his head. I was kind of nervous taking Divina to meet the family at first- She was the little sister of Antonio- Spain- who was mildly disliked, to put it gently- but everyone seemed okay with it. Arthur remained silent, working furiously on his embroidery, somehow displaying all his displeasure with how he jabbed the fabric. He paused for a moment.  
"I wonder how it would be to time travel?" he asked, and I did fall over at this point, causing much raucous laughter from Divina, and a small "I told you so" from Uncle, even though he hadn't. It did give me a chance to conceal my shock, however. I was almost afraid they had figured out my curse, until I realized that we were watching a show involving time travel.  
"Terrible! My schadenfreudic uncle, the best time is here and now, don't let anyone tell you otherwise." I clambered back onto the couch, this time sideways, resting my legs on Divina's stomach. She giggled a bit, and snorted once, in a truly adorable manner.  
"I think you will find, my imbecilic child, that many great accomplishments have been achieved in the past. I would, for one, love to go back and relive some of the various times I kicked France's arse." Uncle resumed his needlework, this time with a slightly happier lilt. "Miss Carriendo, what are your opinions?"  
"I'm with you on this- hey, where are you going?" I had rolled off Divina and was running towards the bathroom.  
"Sorry I'm sick I have to go!" I yelled, not bothering to tell them the truth. My stomach had started hurting in the way it only did when something very bad was about to happen. I shut myself in the bathroom and bent over, clutching my sides. "Damn him, why the hell did he have to activate it? Or was it her? Either way this is a pivotal moment in my life, according to my 'clock'." I winced and lent over further.  
To an observer, I knew, I looked like I was blinking in and out of existence, but to me I saw worlds change. In one, the smell of burning wood and an early dawn, and in the other was home-smell and mid-afternoon. I was chilled and then warmed up, and the air I was breathing switched each second, making me choke. I desperately grabbed a nearby towel, wanting to bring something with me besides my clothes. (I don't know why they followed, but they did, and I was always glad). I closed my eyes, hoping the madness would soon stop.

Then it was cold, and there was a small breeze.

I was still clenched up, eyes shut, but I could tell it had defiantly gotten darker. For a bit, I didn't want to open my eyes. I may have been a bit frightened. I wasn't, though, because I am the Hero's child. But then I realized I was clenching something soft. My towel! I still had my towel! Uncle always said that if you have your towel, you will be all right. This, somehow, gave me the courage to open my eyes and look around me. I was right! It was very dark! (thank you, Captain Obvious). I appeared to be in a sort of alley, by its looks the sort you would normally encounter after a night of exceptional drinking. Even considering that this was a dark alley, it still seemed outstandingly dark. Curious, I looked up, expecting to see hints of light pollution.

Instead, there were stars. Thousands of stars. In the gap between the buildings- very tall, was I in one of my eastern brothers houses? I could see more stars than I would see an entire night back home. My mouth, in a pathetically girly fashion, opened in a silent gasp, which I immediately regretted as I began to choke. This place smelled awful. Over all was the smell of burning wood, but beneath that there was the smell of an overused bathroom or perhaps a farm.

Here come the more disgusting part of my venture- the part that comes from transporting into the more sordid areas of cities- so I would recommend skipping this paragraph if you have just eaten. II put out a hand to pull myself up, and encountered something I would rather not have encountered, causing me to sit up in quite a hurry. Squinting around me, I realized there was shit all around me, and now on my hand. I went to wipe my hand on my towel, but decided against it- who knows how long it would be before I would have a chance to wash my towel. I wiped my hand off on a clean spot on the wall, shuddering in disgust the entire time. And looking at it, it didn't look like dog poop. It was a guess, as I was trying hard not to think about it, but it must have been human faeces, very recently smeared all over my hand. From there it was a race to get out of this dark alley I was in as quickly as possible without encountering anymore of this filth. After a few turns, I discovered a leak from one of the walls, with water- probably dirty but I wasn't bothered. I let out a mild sound of relief as I felt cleaner. I wiped my cleaner hand off on my towel, now feeling glad I had brought it. In my past, I had naturally worked on several farms, being a state of cattle, but that was a very long time ago. Not wanting to trip again, but still wanting to get out of there, I began to find the balance between running and watching the ground.

Several turns later, I was concentrating so hard on the floor that, when I came sprinting out onto the street, I ran straight into someone. "I'm sorry-"I stuttered, looking up, straight into the eyes of Divina.

"Divina?" I asked, ideas running through my head. Had Divina got sucked in with me? I heard a laugh from behind me, and bent my head back to see a man pulling a wagon across the paved street. He had strawberry-blonde hair, and must have been in his early twenties. I blinked at him, and then looked back at Divina, to see it was only a statue. Incredible well constructed... I could have sworn I had one like it, but I couldn't have said where. It was very pretty in the moonlight. I continued to act as if the statue was real, apologizing to it and using one of its outstretched hands to help myself up. I finished off the act by bowing, tipping my metaphorical hat at it. Then I arranged my towel on my arm like a waiter. Turning, I gave the man an overly exaggerated snooty look.  
"Nolite aspiciet me sic filium." He grinned, revealing a pointed canine. I couldn't understand what he was saying. He was speaking a romance language, though for the life of me I couldn't have told you exactly which one. Perhaps Romanian? It defiantly had a Romanian lilt, and a rural one at that. But the words were differently formed, more Spanish, somehow. It's hard to explain. Whatever it was, I could figure out what he was saying. "You aren't from around here, are you?" He continued, or at least I think that's what he said.  
"No, I'm not. Who are you?" I responded in Spanish, hoping he would understand.  
He tilted his head, tasting my words to discover their meaning. My eyes had begun to adjust to the dark, so I could see his red eyes brighten. Red? What a strange colour. "My name is Vladimir." He was talking slower, as if to a child. "I am from Dacia."  
Wait, was he wearing a collar? He was! It had words on it, but I could not make out what they said. And he was wearing a red-oh, I couldn't put my finger on what exactly out was called. Wait, Dacia? Waaaiit... Then it occurred to me that such excessive waiting in the middle of a conversation was quite rude. He was still staring at me kindly, seemingly expecting an answer.  
"My name is... Rio." Sort of a lie; that was only a nickname Divina had given me. However, I never liked giving my name out unless I had too. "I'm from the U.S." Too late, I realized he probably didn't know what that was. Hang on, that statue looked Greek. But we couldn't be in Greece.  
"Youess." He mused, "I've never heard of it."  
Tunic. Us being in Greece would explain why he was wearing a red tunic, but still, the language was wrong.  
"It must be a faraway place."  
..Was he speaking Latin?  
" Why have you come to Trajan's capital?"  
Oh.  
Trajan was an ancient roman emperor. I was in Ancient Rome.

Vladimir is Romania, btw. The area where Romania is used to be called Dacia, but was recently conquered by Trajan.


	2. Meeting Greece

I did have a vague knowledge of Latin, (though that was more due to various video-games than wanting to learn languages- interesting story, actually) so I switched to that, knowing that would be preferable to my Spanish. "I'm here- to, um, explore." An awkward response, perhaps, but surprisingly accurate. I didn't really have a choice, considering my lack of connection with the time-space continuum. "Why, do I seem like a foreigner?"  
"You can't speak Latin, and you are dressed like a barbarian or a prostitute, though you don't seem like one." I looked down at my outfit; jeans and a t-shirt. How was that a prostitu- oh right, ancient Rome. Kept forgetting about that. I hoped I wouldn't run into Rome himself- from what I'd heard, he seemed to be a condescending jackass. "You should come with me. My master likes taking in little stray dogs."  
Oddly, I didn't really feel like following a stranger home- Did he say master? That would explain the collar- he was a slave. Did he want to escape? I did not want to be part of a slave escape. And he called me a dog! Going with him would be a bad idea. What I had to do was find an inn somewhere, or better yet, leave this city altogether until I returned to my own time. Yes, that would be it. I would ask Vladimir instructions to the edge of the city. "That sounds like a good idea to me."

...

WHERE DID THAT COME FROM?  
He gave me what I presumed to be a friendly smile, but with his pointed tooth it looked more like he was baring his teeth for the kill. Vampirish. "Follow me, then." He continued pulling his wagon along. "I was just going to finish this delivery to Mrs. Karpusi's Popina. It's on the way, so you should tag along."  
I raced to catch up with him, arranging my towel as a cape. I noticed that the smell of burning wood was growing stronger. My attempts to look around for the source were hampered by the tall buildings on either side. It was oddly reminiscent of New York, except all the buildings were all boarded up. Was this a poor area? But the flagstones looked so fresh and cleaned. I decided to ask Vladimir about the smell.  
"Oh yes, the public baths are open. The burning wood is used to make stream."  
"I can't imagine them getting many customers this late at night."  
"They normally aren't open at this time. However, there is a visiting delegate from Regnum Bospori; they are one of our client states?"  
"Oh, I've heard of them." I hadn't, but I wanted to pretend to belong in this time period. Explaining the whole "I'm a time traveller" was sometimes quite difficult.

Though there was plenty of ruckus on the adjoining streets, we didn't end up encountering anyone. Was Vlad doing this on purpose? It was hard to tell. Great. I'm calling him Vlad now. Next thing you know, I'll be calling him Vovka- a traditional dimunitive for Vladimir, though there are far more childish ones- and acting as if he was a friend. But I can't form friends here; I could be whisked back at any time.

After a few turns, and encountering one or two more statues and a very pretty fountain, which I stopped and washed my hands in again, Vlad stopped in front of an entrance to what I presumed was a store. Or perhaps the 'Popina'? He knocked at the side, and then entered softly. I followed him, and to my modern and slightly peckish eyes it appeared we had entered a primitive ice-cream parlour of sorts. Yes, my eyes can be peckish. Can't yours?

There was another large entrance on the other side of the store, leading to another street- these streets were large, and well kept- and inside there were tables littered everywhere. Most were more boxes then tables, but each has at least one stool. But the thing which connected by brain to 'ice-cream!' was an L-shaped bar with the short end facing the entrance, and the long end facing the tables. In the bar there were five large holes, and even what appeared to be a primitive sink. Vlad pulled out something from his wagon- a... oh what's the word... amphora? He walked around the bar and pulled out amphorae from under the holes, replacing them with the fresh amphorae. I was being attentive to these perhaps mildly boring events, because first and formost there was still a slim chance of icecream, but secondly because I needed to absorb all the information I could if I was to blend in. The amphorae seemed to have food in them? Figs and lettuce and other disgustingly healthy fresh edibles.

A curtain flickered at the side, making me jump from my inspection of this cruelly fake ice-cream bar, and pulled aside to reveal stairs and a tired-looking woman standing there. She had cofee-night long hair, and the light from her flickering candle revealed some lovely green eyes.

"Vladimir? You're up late- did the tanners keep you for a bit? Oh, that's a lovely one you've picked up, but I thought you weren't into prostitutes, or acutally girls in general. I don't think your master would approve."

"I'm not a prostitute, or a barbarian." I answered for myself. "I'm just new here, and the fashions are very different from what I am used to."

Her eyes were very deep, almost, and big and encompassing in deepness as she read me. She seemed middle-aged- you could tell she was quite the beauty in her youth, but she was wilting slowly. Did she have an accent? She did, and different from Vladimir's. Greek? "You should get changed, darling. Here, come upstairs with me. I'll find you a tunic."

Me and Vladimir started speaking at the same time, protesting that I could find some elsewhere, but she brushed off our complaints with an elegant wave of her hand and half dragged me upstairs. She certainly gave an air of one used to being obeyed.

I entered into a simple room, with not even a kitchen or a bathroom off to the side. There was a child sleeping in the only bed of the room, curled up. He was what, Four? Five? He seemed to be Mrs. Karpusi's son. There were no windows, just a parchment covered gap in the wall, partially darkened by a tattered curtain. During my inspection, Mrs. Karpusi had set the candle down and was digging around in an open box containing fabric. Actually, 'digging' belies the grace with which she moved. She truly was an elegant woman, and I know I'm using that adjective a lot, but it really does suit her.

A small sound of satisfaction, and she pulled out a green tunic, and held it out to me. "Here. This is an old one of mine. You will wear it, ναί?" I took it from her, inspecting it. It looked surprisingly well made, given her current living conditions. It was also surprisingly long, like a Greek chiffon. Was she, in fact, from Greece? She was wearing a tun-maybe it was a chiffon. I looked back at her, and smiled.

After a few moments, it appeared she was not going to turn around while I changed. I was uncomfortable with stripping in front of a strange woman, but I knew that nudity was much more accepted in Roman culture. I suppose I will just have to get used to it, I mused as I took off my clothes. I left my underwear on as I pulled on the tunic. I was going to keep something of mine, thank you very much. I looked at my shoes, a pair of black snow boots, and back at her. She smiled, so I took it that I would be allowed to keep them on. She passed me a belt, and I slipped it around my waist.

"You're pretty." I was confused at the new voice, and looked to my right to see that the son had woken up. Definitely her son. He has the same eyes and the same curly hair. He was cuddling a cat. Wait, where did that cat come from?

My priorities were really mixed up, weren't they? More concerned about a cat then the fact random people were watching me change.

"Go back to sleep, Heracles." Huh. That name was familiar, but I was tired and could not place it. "And where did that cat come from?"

"The cat's name is-"

"I told you not to give names to animals! It just makes it worse when they die!" I was slightly surprised at Mrs. Karpusi's outburst, one that reverberated off the walls, and gave her a sideways glance. But the somnolent Heracles took it in stride.

"Okay, ma. What is your name, pretty one?"

Was he referring to me? Strange kid, or maybe just flirty. "My name is Rio." I should keep the same false name.

"Rio, you're pretty." Then, acknowledging his Mother's glare, he rolled over and went back to sleep.

"My name is Cyanae of Hellas- wait, I forgot, here I would be called Cyanae Karpusi," she said, taking me in arm as we walked down the stairs, candle in her other arm "I know transitioning to Rome can be difficult- he- sorry, it- is a hard place to get used to." A soft smile danced on her face, and I had a feeling I was missing something. "Your name is Rio, yes?"

"Yes, Ma'm-"

"Please, call me Cyanae."

"Okay, Cyanae. I'm from the U.S."

"Youess? I've never heard of it."

"You too?" Vladimir had been waiting at one of the tables for us. "And if you haven't heard of it, it must be far away."

Cyanae laughed an elegant, tinkling laugh. "I'm not that old."

Vladimir, emerging into the candle light, looked nervous for a moment. "Oh, I didn't mean that- all I meant was-"

"Hush, darling. I knew what you meant. Where are you taking Rio, anyway?"

"To my Master's."

Cyanae looked half shocked and disgusted for a moment. "Roma?"

"Unless my Master has changed names, then yes."

Cyanae turned to me, pity in her eyes. "You watch yourself, you hear?"

"He's not that much of a slut to go after someone like that." Cyanae turned and looked at him, arms folded and one eyebrow raised.

"At least for the first day."

I interrupted at this point. I had been distracted again by the sink, but the implications got my attention. "Look, I can take care of myself." The both looked at me with disbelief.

"I can!"

"Vlad, you look after Rio."

"Yes Sir."

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Roma is (I would say spoiler but its kinda obvious) Ancient Rome, Cyanae is Ancient Greece, Heracles is Greece. Why is she called Cyanae? Its a old Greek name meaning 'blue'. I was thinking of Greece's pretty waters, and it seemed to fit. Reviews are appreciated deeply, loved, adored, and generally fed worms until they grow up, in which case I push them off a tree and see if they can fly. Wait, what? Are you giving me reviews or baby birds?


	3. Rome's Domus

The Chiffon looks a lot like the female clothing of Ancient Rome, which may help explain some things.

* * *

I followed Vlad again, down the streets. The sky was bleeding and growing pale, and the stars began to fade out. I was able to make out the boarded up buildings, and realized that the boards were actually crude doors. As we walked along, the buildings transformed from forbidding to open, with people beginning to talk and laugh, and argue. I couldn't make out what they were saying; my rudimentary Latin coped with Vlad's patience and the Karpusis' slow manner of talking, but not much else. By this time I had no idea where we were in comparison to where I had first arrived. Vlad led me to a foreboding door, leading to a place resembling more a fortress then a house. He seemed to be comfortable as he pulled the wagon inside, but I hesitated. Where was my towel? I needed its comfort. Unfortunately, I had left it at Cyanae's house. Where was I supposed to get comfort from now?

Vlad poked his head back out, sans wagon. "Come on in, there will be some bread ready soon."

BREAD.

I nearly raced inside, past a very amused Vlad. I may have been excessively fond of bread. It seemed to me I was racing into one of those tunnels with a light at the end, for a few moments, though I noticed I had passed someone to my left who was guarding a door or something. I ended up in a lighted room, though it took me a few moments to realize where the light was coming from.

There was large skylight in the ceiling with no glass, and a square pool filled with what looked like rain water underneath. It was still semi-dark, but I saw no ways of making the room lighter. By the pool a few children were messing around, one attempting to float a small boat in the water and the others annoying a man cleaning the floor with a rock.

Vlad followed me and went in front of me.

"Master Lovino, Master Francis, Master Feli, stop irritating poor Atanas."

The three boys, all between two and six, acknowledged Vlad. The other one was still floating his little boat, and seemed very pleased when it finally stayed up. Atanas gave Vlad a grateful smile, then did a double take when he saw me.

"Who is that, Vovo?"

"Yeah, Vlad!" said one of the boys- Francis? Smell of roses. "Who is the pretty one?"

"This is Rio. With me."

"I was wondering about that, actually." Someone was behind us, and I turned almost simultaneously with Vlad. It was- he looked like a guard of sorts, wearing leggings with his tunic and carrying a sword, which he sheathed when he entered the room. Marijuana? "Random people racing past me does tend to worry me."

"All right, before you say anything, Vovocka," I noticed Vlad was about to speak, "I would like to know the names of everyone in here."

"...What did you just call me?"

"Forget it." _Whoops, I really did just call him a very personal nickname._

The guard shrugged. "I'm Abel. I'm the door-guard."

"Atanas, Vovo's brother. If you're going to start calling my brother that, we'll have to call you Rionushka."

Vlad spoke up then. "We aren't using that nickname. We also have a younger brother, called Carol."

"I'm Francis!" said the boy who had called me pretty. The adults fell silent when he spoke. "I'm Roma's grandson! This is Lovino and Feliciano- they're twins, though they don't look like it! They're the youngest." he pointed towards the two boys playing a hand clapping game. Feliciano? That was-

"I'm Antonio." The one who had been playing with his boat turned around, boat clutched in his hands. A flash of Divina's eyes, a touch of her accent. I was missing something freakishly obvious.

"I'm Ri- Wait, you already know that. Um, do you want to play with bigger boats when you grow up?"

"When I grow up grandpa's going to let me rule the seas!"

"Are you all siblings?"

"Yes! Well, no. Well, yes."

Atanas interrupted politely. "They are foundlings that Roma took in to raise as his own."

"Hang on, Roma?" Wasn't that... Rome...? Was...? Finally, my tired brain sense of the situation, started connecting names with faces, smells with people.

I think you've already figured out the connections, so I won't bother you with them.

"Yes, Roma. He's the master of this Domus, a great politician around here." explained Abel. "He does have many political enemies, especially after the Dacian conflict, but, of course, you have no association with them, I trust? You know of the Burs?" A trap. I didn't know what the correct answer was. However, as Abel resembled a tightly coiled wolverine, an incorrect answer would lead to mild mutilation. I could not exactly explain my lack of understanding by saying that I was from the future. My excursions with time travel would most likely be exploited, and reasonably so. "You seem to be very tense, Rio." Well, of course I was! I had just realized I was surrounded by countries! "Vladimir, where did you pick up this little boy?"

Vova put a hand on my shoulder. "Calm down, Abel. Rio isn't from around here. I doubt she even has any idea what you're talking about."

"How can you be so sure of that…" Abel murmured.

"Speaking of Roma, is he back yet?"

"He's upstairs." After one more suspicious glare, Abel stalked back towards his post by the door.

"Don't worry about Abel. He's just trying to protect the family, that's all. But soon you'll be part of the family, so then he'll protect you too!" Feliciano was currently trapped underneath his brother.

"Family?"

"Yeah! Stay and play with us, pretty boy! You can help me plan my navy!" said Antonio, apparently unaffected by the tension. Helping my girlfriend's older brother plan his navy... I needed to remain unattached to these little children, especially in the context of countries. "Come on, you can have this boat, and-"

"Must find bread."

"We can have bread! I love bread as well. Vlad, we can have bread, right?" Francis begged condescendingly.

"Of course, Master Francis. But wouldn't it be best to wait for Roma?" Vlad half bowed.

"Roma?" the two twins looked around, and the lighter haired one, Feli, spoke up. "We should wait for Grandpa Roma! We want to see Grandpa Roma!"

"What? I have to wait for an old man to get up before I can be fed? Argh." I was very annoyed at this possible delay in my bread.

"Grandpa isn't old!" protested Lovino. "He's really sexy!"

I blinked, and Atanas, now finished with the floor, snorted. Vlad was more elegant and contained his laugh, commenting "He's heard that from the women who stop over, I think."

"That's right! I'm going to be sexy like Grandpa when I grow up!"

"And that right there is a phrase I thought I would never hear. Vovka, are we going to wake up this sexy Grandpa or not?" I turned to him.

"Sure, but I really wouldn't suggest calling him that. He will take it the wrong way." Vlad was smiling.

"But he'll come back and play with us, Vlad?"

"I'm right here, thank you. Yes, I'll come and play with you, after we eat bread."

Atanas got up. "I'll go in with you- I've got to help Laura and her two little ones in the kitchen."

Vlad nodded, and the three of us walked back down the hall, Abel letting us in with a suspicious glare at me. "Oh, Laura is Abel's sister."

We split off, and Vlad led me to a similarly dark room- this whole house was shut in on itself, I swear.

In the room, I blinked for Vlad opened the one window, a high up one which revealed a garden of sorts. There was a bed in the center, a box, and a dresser with a mirror, but otherwise it was as bare as the Karpusi's. Or at least, that's what I thought, until I realized the walls were covered with mosaics of some fairly erotic scenes. I was fascinated by these for a few moments, until the thing in the bed stirred. The bed was really high, by the way, and covered in multicoloured blankets. I was surprised he could reach it without a stool.

He tilted his head into the light, and I may have been able to see what Lovino meant. Of course, I didn't really, because I had a girlfriend and a beautiful one at that, and he was a jackass country. He was certainly in the prime of his life though. He blinked open his eyes when Vlad shook him gently.

"Five minutes" said Roma drowsily.

"Sir, you have to get up. You need to have breakfast and get cleaned. The clientele will be here soon."

"Pedicabo clientes."

"Sir-"

"Fine." Roma flopped out of bed, only in his underwear, and grabbed the tunic offered, yanking it on, followed by the offered belt. Definitely in the prime of life. He hadn't noticed me yet, and just stood there, hair messed up, as if waiting for something. Even though I was, as normal, confused, Vlad knew what to do. He used the last piece of fabric he had, a six-foot purple-boarded semi circle from the looks of things, and began to drape it around Roma. A toga? While Vlad was busy making sure each fold was right, Roma's eyes started wandering, bored, until they alighted on me. We made eye-contact for a while. "Vlad?"

"Yes sir?"

"Who is that beautiful woman?"_Why did he assume I was a woman?_

"I'm a traveler. My name is Rio." I said flatly. And what was it with people directing questions about me to Vlad? He wasn't my keeper. He didn't even know my real name.

His eyes brightened and he leaped towards me. "My, you really aren't from around here, pretty one! How wonderful! Oh, we must show you around- Vlad, tell Arthur to make a place for her to sleep-" he was gushing this out as he kissed me on both cheeks, which I'm quite sure wasn't a custom around then. "How long will you staying? A year at least!"

I was overwhelmed by this sheer display of manwhoriness, and just let myself be pulled along down and into a large indoor garden, where a large table with chairs awaited. Vlad managed to slip out, to inform... Arthur? Same name as Uncle. Weird that. Just how many slaves did Roma have? A regular plantation owner. _But everyone seemed rather happy_, I mused as I sat down in the chair Roma pulled out for me. _Was slavery in Ancient Rome not so bad? No, that's ridiculous. Slavery is awful no matter the form. However, it is the custom here, I know it will be abolished eventually, and Roma is 'nice' to his slaves, so I guess I'm not going to really be doing anything about it. Besides, I remember reading that a lot of owners in Ancient Rome will free their slaves after a few years, or in their will, which gives them rights of a full citizen. Roma seems the sort to do this._

During my ruminations on how ethical this situation was, Roma was babbling happily, holding my hands- he still thought I was a girl. Why was that giving me a sensation like Divina did- no. No. Stop feeling that. And where was that bread?

* * *

Reviews are loved like the polish pastries they are! Atanas (Immortal) is Bulgaria, Carol (Free) is Moldova, Abel (Son) is Netherlands, Laura (bay) is Belgium, and please tell me you know who the four little boys and Arthur is. How many slaves does Rome have? I'm going off the maximum size of Rome, because the rule of Trajan is when Rome is biggest. So a lot, but all mentioned specifically except maybe one will be canon characters.


	4. Turkey & Bread

I was fairly sure a master eating with his slaves was an unusual event, but it seemed normal here. Well, Roma was a very strange guy. It seemed that every member of the household, even Abel, was filtering in and sitting around the table, mostly on the floor, though the four little ones did join us. It was a very pretty garden, by the way. It was surrounded by the house, with columned walkways and a lovely fountain. I've always appreciated civilized nature- hanging out with Arthur too much-so I did like it. However, as I watched a girl enter, followed by two children also carrying food, I suddenly remembered there was something I appreciated much more. Namely, bread. As soon as she put it down on the table, Francis and I both tugged the first loaf, splitting it.

Some of the servants, paying close attention to the masters, laughed at this, but the majority were interested in the food that the two children and Atanas were bringing out. Roma also took some bread, smiling. It was a very happy place here, and Roma seemed like a very happy person. I began to devour my bread rapidly, keeping a close eye on Francis. On our table appeared some cooked fish and fruit with the bread, with some honey to accompany it, but lots of bread and some fruit made its rounds to all there.

"Mr. Roma sir-" I started, turning to Roma.

"Please call me Roma, Rio."

"Roma, can you tell me a bit about Rome?" He would certainly be the one to ask.

"Ah?" Roma scratched the back of his head. "I suppose it's a very lively place, and very colourful, with the roofs of the buildings and the mosaics. Have you seen the baths? They are amazing. We have a lot of statues from Greece- they make glorious statues! It used to be tedious here in the Republic Era, but now we are powerful and strong. I've seen many other places in my travels; I still think Rome is the best. Where do you come from?"

So many words. Clearly Roma suffered from some sort of verbal diarrhoea, though I must admit he was the ancestor of Italians. "I'm from the U.S."

"I've never heard of it. Is that the full name of the country? Is it a beautiful country? Is it rich?"

A conquerors question. Which seemed odd. Actually, the whole thing seemed odd- I had gained the impression that Rome was a scarily powerful country, but he seemed nice to a sickly degree."It's called... The United States of America. But I seriously doubt you've heard of it- it is very far away. It's... It's a very large country, so parts are good and bad. The part I'm from, California, is a wonderful place. What I really love is that within a few days drive- sorry, ride, I suppose, you can go from the ocean to the desert to the mountains to the forests. It's kind of conflicted though. Some people are pacificts, some are, well, not. But it's the best." I was proud of my state.

"If it makes such a pretty girl like you, it must be beautiful." Roma looked deeply into my eyes. Why was he doing this again? It was creeping me out.

"No, Rio's a boy." Antonio looked up. "Rio's a pretty boy."

"What? Don't be silly, she's a girl."

"Boy." Said Francis.

"Girl."

As Roma started having a fight with his grandchildren about my sex, I felt a tug on my tunic. It was one of the boys who had followed the bread girl in. He silently gave me a wet towel. I was confused, until I realized my fingers were slightly sticky with honey. I wiped them, hesitantly, and then the boy took the towel back.

"Why don't you come and talk to us?" Vlad waved me over from the corner where he was sitting with Atanas, and another boy who looked sort of like them. Carol, I assumed. The counterpart of Moldova? No, I mustn't think of them as countries. That would just get too confusing, and my American biases would influence me too much. I should accept them as they are. I took my leave of the table, which was on the verge of descending into a food fight, and sat with them.

"So can you tell me a little bit about everyone here?" I asked, melting in the sweet-smelling rustle of the grass.

"Um, sure. You know about half now, but that girl who just came in, she's Laura-" Indeed, the 'Laura', proposed sister of Abel, was talking to her brother, who was keeping an eye outwards. Her manner of searching for danger was similar to his, though less emphasised. "The two boys who came in with her are Roderich and Elizaveta. The kid who gave you the towel is called Arthur. Those are the main ones, though I think Roma has slaves off working for him." Arthur? My uncle was my servant? This was too good! No. Not countries. Not family. Strangers.

"And there's Sadiq and Hyrum." Carol piped up. At the mention of the last name, the other two grew silent, and Carol turned an interesting shade of red. I looked back and forth at them.

"Is there something I shouldn't know about?" This was my attempt at tact.

"Urm, well, Hyrum... he's dead..." Atanas fiddled with his fingers. "He was a child of Carthage, very brash and loud, but very nice to us. He always disobeyed Roma, and so now he doesn't exist anymore." There was an awkward silence for a few moments, broken by Roma complaining about his newly bruised cheek because of a very good throw by Lovino. I stared at Atanas, eyes contact only stopped for Roderich and Elizaveta chasing each other through our circle. _He must have been very bad for Roma to do something... Roma was such a nice guy!_

"And Sadiq?"

"Oh, he's still here." Carol said optimistically. "But he's a lot like Hyrum, though he's from Asia, which is why he's in his room right now."

"His room? He's being punished like a little kid?" My incredulous statement may have been a bit rude, now I look back at it.

"Actually, his 'room' is more like a stone cage. No light, rarely any food. He's been there for a few weeks now. When I punish someone, I don't do it half-heartedly. I want to make sure they don't do it again, after all." Roma was behind me, apparently, or someone had done a very good imitation of his voice. He sat beside me.

"Oh." There wasn't any more I could really say.

"He did deserve it, please don't be sad." Roma beamed hopefully, dissipating his temporarily cloudy expression.

"Um."

"Sir, you need to get ready for your clientele." Vlad interrupted tactfully at the lull in the conversation.

"Already?"

"It's already far past noon."

"Fine. Atanas, you look after the lovely lady, alright?"

"I still say he's a boy." Complained Antonio, appearing from the table. Looking around, as Roma began to leave with Vlad, I noticed everyone else had headed back to work except Atanas, Carol, and I.

Carol leaned close to me and whispered "Actually, we normally bring him some food every other day. We were going to bring him some bread now, if you want to come. I'm sure Roma won't mind."

"I wouldn't, but you should still ask me." Us three all jumped, and looked right to see Roma crouching there, with Feliciano riding on his back. "Of course, Atanas will make sure nothing happens, yes?"

"Yes sir!" said Atanas. Roma nodded and once again left, this time (hopefully) for real. We did however wait awkwardly before I followed Atanas and Carol out into the house. _Why is it always so gorramn dark in here?_ Carol and Atanas, apparently not being mind readers, did not notice my stumbling failure to follow them, leading me to have to feel my way along the walls and have a conversation with them in an attempt to use radar. As I was not a bat, dolphin, or submarine, this had limited effects.

Eventually, my eyes adjusted to the dark, and we made our way to the Room. Atanas took the sword mounted on the wall next to it, Carol took the piece of bread he had picked up earlier without me noticing it, and I opened the door.

It swung open to reveal someone lying on the floor, curled up and mumbling softly. "Sadiq?" asked Atanas softly. The figure moved, and sat up.

"Light." He said. "Born in darkness." He watched as we came inside. Clearly this man was not quite in his right mind. "I don't want to be as naked as this." I assumed he was talking metaphorically. "I need to hide. Can't hide. Light."I couldn't make out what he looked like, as he took the bread from us and tore it up into tiny pieces to eat it. He mumbled with each mouthful. "Hiding from darkness."

"Its one of his bad days." Carol whispered to me. "Normally he's not too bad. Don't worry; he'll be fine a few weeks after Roma lets him out. He's not a cruel man." I knew that. I was just curious about Sadiq. Was he Turkey?

"You don't look too happy." I remarked to Sadiq, deciding that introductions were unnecessary.

He stopped, hearing my voice, and stood up suddenly, causing Atanas to point the sword at him. "A newcomer?" asked Sadiq. "Has Roma taken another?"

"It's not that bad." Said Carol irritably.

Sadiq looked at Carol. "Do you know what your name means, Carol? Your name means freeman. Do you know what my name means, Carol?"

"Enlighten us." I interposed, noting Carol's hesitancy.

"It means honest. It means truth. I can't be true here. I can't be true within myself."

"Someone needs to get back into the light." Atanas muttered, likely unintentionally.

"I want to. I want to see my home again."

Again, everyone was quiet, in that little dark room of madness and truth. We stayed like that for a while. Everyone knew that Sadiq wasn't quite right in the head, but he wasn't dangerous. Carol and Atanas were a lot less comfortable than I was in here.

"My home is beautiful." Sadiq spoke suddenly. "Ever since Tangri Kara Han listened to Ak Ana-"

"Sorry, what?" I interrupted curiously.

"You know, the white goose? The creation of the world?"

I gave him a blank look which he couldn't see. "All right, start from the beginning."

And that is how we spent an hour or so listening to creation myths. Sadiq, in his lucid periods, proved to be a dramatic storyteller. Footsteps passed, and Roma looked in on us, Vlad in the background. Roma looked neater now, hair combed and beard shaved. "What are you doing talking to Sadiq? I was fairly sure I said no excessive talking to him."

"Why not? Why can't you see the truth?" Sadiq walked over to Roma angrily. "Why can't you see that I'm not going to be here forever?"

Roma looked over Sadiq calmly. "You will do whatever I tell you to do. Carol, Atanas, Rio, let's go." We filed out, Atanas hanging the sword back up. Sadiq continued staring at Roma. For a moment, it seemed that Sadiq was going to attack, but he just turned and went back into his room. Roma closed the door behind him.

* * *

Asia minor was Turkey.


	5. Lunch!

"I'm hungry." Complained Lovino. Except, he didn't say it so succinctly. He drew it out in an accusative, pathetic tone, attempting to indicate he hadn't been fed for weeks, then plopping his head into Roma's shoulder. Roma shifted his grasp on him slightly.

"We just had breakfast!" Carol was rather noisy for someone so subservient the other slaves tended to be far quieter, even the younger ones. But Rome didn't seem upset, luckily. He has his normal half-smile on his face. He really did have an expressive face, but I still had no idea what to think of him. True, he did match the description Cyanae had given me of being a massive flirt, but I wasn't seeing much of the 'serious' side that Ludwig had mentioned (He was quite a fan of Ancient Rome). I mean, he had acted... interestingly... towards Sadiq, but still...

"Actually, it's nearly the sixth hour. It's been quite a while since breakfast." Roma didn't bother to turn, but his tone showed he wasn't upset. He forgave so easily! We were walking down the halls, as the children, all resting on Roma, couldn't decide whether to go to the atrium or the ambulation- I learned that was the term for lower part of the indoor garden I had seen.

"Midday? Lunch?" Feliciano perked up from beside Lovino.

Roma let out a laugh, a big booming one, and swiftly changed direction. "I see you do take after your Grandfather! Yes, we can go to a Popina." All four children perked up at this, and immediately began clamouring for their favourite Popina.

Roma nodded his head gravely at each excited suggestion. "All right, we'll go to the Karpusi's."

I started paying more attention then. Mrs. Karpu- Gree- Cyanae. That was her name. Cyanae. "Yay!" exclaimed Francis. "We get to see Heracles."

"You only want to go to flirt with Mrs. Karpusi." Lovino was much less excited.

To cheer them up, Roma tossed both twins into the air and caught them. "Ah, but she is lovely, isn't she? Like a goddess of the moon..."

"Roma! You shouldn't compliment girls when there is someone else you like here!" Francis scolded.

"What?" Roma turned to me with a charming smile. Naturally, I wasn't affected by it at all. "Ah, but Rio knows that I adore any pretty woman!" I yawned, covering my mouth, which obviously wasn't to hide a blush or anything.

"Except Rio is a boy. A pretty one, but still a boy."

"Oh not again..." Carol groaned quietly. Thankfully, however, the argument over my gender never took off, as Roma was still partially lost in the mists of Cyanae.

"Besides, I was the one who helped her and Tameri start their Popinae- I think we should check on them."

They continued to chat, but I turned to Elizabeta, walking on the ground with a small pan that she had taken from the kitchen. "Who? What?"

"Oh yes, you are new here, yes?" I nodded. She seemed fairly nice, and adult considering her age, quite open to me addressing her so succinctly.

"A while ago, before I... came... here, Roma brought back two queens."

"Queens?" I questioned.

"Roma only takes important people."

"Oh." So they were definitely countries. Did Elizabeta realize she was a country? Or was she just good at concealing the truth from a 'non-country'?

"One was Cyanae Karpusi, she was from Greece, and the other was Tameri Hassan, from Egypt. Then the two... ladies... had kids! Karpusi had Heracles and Hassan had Gupta. They used to live with us, on the second floor- the first floor is for men, you know- but then something happened. I don't know what, but Tameri and Cyanae both wanted to leave. I don't know what they said to Roma, but it involved a lot of shouting. Anyway, they came to a compromise. They both had to stay in Rome, but Roma set them both up with Popinae on two busy streets, and he lets them do what they want."

"That I did!" Roma again seemed to appear from nowhere behind us. "And now we go to check on my lovely Cyanae!"

I nearly jumped, but recovered. I was starting to get used to this, no matter what that meant. "Roma, Heracles and Gupta... are they your sons?" Would that be accurate

Roma looked in my eyes then, and I swear his head began to tilt on its side like a dog, and his smile dropped into seriousness. "...Yes."

I had a lot of questions burning through my mind right then, but I instead took the opportunity to accidentally walk into the wall next to the exit of the Domus, leading to an amused snort from Laura, who apparently did her brothers job during the day. Roma immediately acted with great concern as I complained vibrantly in various languages about exit's location. I found it interesting that when I compared the door to an idiotic butterfly in German, Roma laughed. He knew German?

"Are you leaving, Sir?" asked Laura, standing up.

Roma waved a hand. "Stay here and guard the house, all right? I'll be fine, mother hen."

"Roma! Roma! Can I guard the house next time?" asked Elizabeta excitedly.

"Hmm, I'm not sure that you'll do a good job, it is meant for grownups." Elizabeta looked terribly sad at this. "Why don't you help Laura for now?" Roma ruffled Elizabeta's hair, and she nodded happily and joined Laura. Laura gave her a knife to 'guard' with, and she seemed content. They were master and slave?

We began to walk down the streets, Roma taking me in hand.

"Roma?"

"Yes, Rio?"

"Why have you let me in?"

"Hmm?"

"I mean, there are probably a bunch of people like me, without a place to stay and all- why are you letting me stay at your place?" I'd understand if he knew I was a country, but he hadn't figured that out yet._  
_

"Hmm..." It was almost as if he was changing masks, the way his expressions leaped around. Now he was lapsing into thought. "Five reasons." He said presently, again lighting up. "First, Vladimir brought you home. He's normally a good judge of character. Second, you're a traveller and I love to hear tales about faraway lands. Oh yes, you must tell me some later. Thirdly, the children like how you act. Fourthly, you're a cute girl."

"You're supposed to blush, not just look blank, you know" commented Francis.

"What?" I looked down at Francis.

"When grandfather says he thinks anyone is cute, even if they're a boy, they blush. You keep forgetting this." Well, actually, I hadn't forgotten, I'm just glad no one had noticed...

"Don't be silly, Rio is a girl."

And the argument continues. I sighed as they continued until we reached the Popina. I pulled away from Roma and dashed in first with the boys, excited to see Cyanae and Heracles. Cyanae was manning the sink and taking orders, while Heracles was dashing around, serving everyone. A cat was walking around the tables, eating any scraps dropped like a dog. It looked fairly busy. People were coming in from both sides of the street, from all manner of trades and all wearing mildly bright tunics, one or two with togas. It was clear white for a tunic was a rare colour. It seemed this place wasn't exactly high class, given as togas seemed reserved for the rich and there were so few.

"Rio!" Cyanae had looked up to see me enter, and her haggard face creased into a gentle smile. She was still pretty. Then she frowned as Roma entered with the children.

"Cyanae, how lovely to see you!"

"Roma, what are you doing here." Despite being phrased as a question, it was clear it was not so much one as an expression of anger.

"Why, I came to see you!" Some of the more regular customers had started to look around at us; it seemed that this exchange was expected and intriguing.

"What do you want."

"To see you!"

"Get out."

"I also want lunch. Or do you want to refuse me service?"

The crowd drew in a collective breath, like Roma had just drawn his trump card. Francis tugged on my tunic, and I knelt to his level as Roma and Cyanae had a stare-off. "It's bad for anyone to refuse Roma service. Especially for a-" and here there was a surprising amount of scorn for such a young child "a Popina owner." I nodded.

Cyanae looked away. "Fine." The tension broke with slight disappointment.

Roma nodded. "I'll have the usual." He sat down at an empty table with enough open chairs for all of us. Heracles said hello as he passed, but it was clear he was far more intent on doing his job. Cyanae herself served us our meals, simple lettuce from the amphorae me and Vlad had delivered earlier. It seemed fairly innocuous, and Cyanae flicked away Roma's overt flirting before heading back to her counter.

"Rio..." Roma ignored his meal while me and Francis began to fight over the bread.

"What?" I mumbled with a mouthful of bread.

"Is there anyone back home for you?"

"What do you mean? Family?"

"Lover."

I may have blushed at this point, and looked back down at my food, thinking about Divina. I really did like her. Love? I guess so... I used to live with her once, actually, in Spain's house, before Alfred took me to his house. It's just that Alfred would kill me if I admitted my love of her.

"Rio likes someone." Feliciano said in that way modern-day elementary school children do.

"Is she pretty?" Felicano was very curious. "Or is it a he?"

"It's a she."

"... you have someone already." Roma looked almost sad. What? Had he liked me or something? Because I like- No. First, I didn't, and second, he flirted with everyone.

"Yes. And yes, Felicano, she is very pretty. She... she has lovely dark brown hair, very long. I love to look into her eyes as well. They're a light green, and every time I look at them, its like being sucked into the ocean. Oh, and she has this adorably little kissable mouth, and her lips are this really pretty shade of pink. I love her voice as well. She's Mexican- Mexico is the country to the south of us- so she has an amazing accent, and her normal voice is so melodic. Her names Divina... it means 'Divine one' in her language..."

I trailed off as I realized I was rambling on. Roma was staring at me.

"Young love is the best!" He nearly knocked over the table in his attempt to rush around and hug me. "I'm very happy for you."

"What? I'm not going to marry her or anything, seriously."

"Why not?" asked Antonio. "Don't you love her?"

"Well, yes, but, but, it's too complicated! Roma, eat your meal!" Roma released me immediately, looking quite surprised that I had ordered him to do something. I furiously ate my bread, bright red. He chuckled and headed back to his seat.

"Tell us about the... Youess, Rio!" Exclaimed Feliciano.

"Again?"

"You didn't tell us a lot."

"Fine." I began to talk as Roma looked down at his meal and laughed. We all looked over at his meal, and the children broke into raucous laughter while I just chuckled. On his plate, the meal was carefully arranged in the shape of a hand flipping the bird.

"Good one, Cyanae!" Roma roared, grinning at her.

Cyanae merely looked haughty, but her eyes crinkled in happiness. I just shook my head. Immature and yet sweet.

When I had finished my meal, I boredly skimmed the room. This was a nice place, actually. Well, that was perhaps a bit of an over exaggeration; two people had just become engaged in a, to use terms picked up from reading old west books, a bar brawl. Another was dealing with a woman dressed in a toga in an over-friendly manner. Everyone seemed to have wine, even the four children and I, though I had let Francis have most of mine in return for bread. But because of the multiple entrances, it was a fairly bright place, and thanks to Cyanae's and Heracles's efforts and cats, it was fairly clean. Cyanae herself was carefully directing the fight so it ended up outside. I thought of something, and scanned my compatriots to see what they were doing. Still eating, with Lovino stealing Felicano's figs and Roma having to intervene, Antonio trying to float various things in his wine, and Francis happily dunking some of my bread in his wine. Yes, it was my bread. All bread was my bread. I left the table quietly. Roma did notice I had left; He was scarily good at noticing people's movements. My image of him as being a nice and gullible guy was becoming more and more tattered. He still didn't live up to the serious description that I had been given. I walked over to Cyanae, who was taking a short break, resting against the wall. "Hey, Cyanae. I was wondering if I could come and hang out with you and Heracles later?" I wanted to discuss Roma and the children with her.

For a moment, she was confused, and her reaction was a bit slow. "Sure...?" Then she smiled, and it reminded me of Roma's. I could see why they used to like each other. "I'd like that."

"Hey, Cyanae! We're hungry!" Turning, I saw a few people behind us, colourfully dressed in yellow, all smiling.

Cyanae stood up hurriedly. "Oh, I'm sorry, Laelius-"

"No, it's all right, we're fine." Said one at the front. They all seemed fairly interchangeable to me.

"Rio, can you help out?" Cyanae anxiously scanned the new customers to see even more behind them.

"Um... sure?"

"Good. You help out Heracles. What would you like this afternoon?" She turned to the customers. They began to speak, asking for figs and other foods, along with copious amounts of wine, before sitting down in droves. I had paid attention (For once) to the orders, so Heracles and I came up to the counter and started loading plates. As we went towards the tables, he told me the correct direction to go (as, like normal, I had forgotten which tables were which; there was a reason I had never considered a career as a waitress) The next hour was a blur of tables and being told off, with loud noises and a few more fights. Finally, things began to calm down, soon ending with us all cleaning plates and me and Heracles talking about cats. It turns out that Heracles knew more about the cats then the internet.

"So now are you ready to go?"

I freaked out and dropped a plate, thankfully into the sink. Apparently I hadn't gotten used to Roma's 'apparating' skills. "For this afternoon, I was thinking that we could go to the Baths of Trajan?" He glanced around at us to gauge our reactions. Antonio let out a shriek of delight; he was fond of anything to do with water, come to think of it, and his other grandchildren were equally excited.

"Don't you have work?" I asked. _Surely he gets enough wealth for that Domus from somewhere._

"Oh, Rio, don't be silly. No one in Rome works after lunch!"

"Ah." Several taunts about Rome's eventual fall filled my head, but for the sake of not accidentally corrupting the time stream, I remained silent. "Cyanae, Heracles, does that mean you're free? Roma, can they come? Please?"

"μάνα?" Heracles uncertainly glanced at Cyanae.

"We aren't going anywhere with Roma." Cyanae appeared calm.

"Oh come on-" groaned me and Heracles in unison, causing a chuckle from Roma.

"Both of you?" sighed Cyanae, ruffling our hair.

"Yes! Both of us!" Heracles said.

"Quomodo tu habere amicam? Quomodo? Quomodo?" Roma muttered under his breath, so fast I couldn't understand what he was saying.

* * *

So yah. In the Popinae, they traditionally had a dog going around to pick up scraps. If a woman wore a toga, or had dyed hair, that meant she was a prostitute. And our image of tunics as always being white is very skewed.


	6. Entering the Baths

"Fine." We began to walk out onto the streets, Cyanae not bothering to board up the shop. It made sense, actually. There was pretty much nothing left in the amphorae, and they didn't seem rich enough to have anything worth hiding. The street we were walking on was fairly busy, people pushing back and forth, with very little regard for personal space. However, there did seem to be a bubble around us.

Rome was a surprisingly colourful place. First you had the colourful clothing, and then the buildings- yes, some were a bright marble colour, but most were painted wood with terra-cotta rooftops and a few temples with greenish roofs- and there was a ridiculous amount of statues on rooftops, all gilded gold. I noticed that only Cyanae and I weren't wearing togas- Roma was wearing a purple one, and all the children were wearing white togas with purple borders.

Shifting my view upwards, the sky seemed bluer than normal, somehow. I suppose it was because I was so used to seeing the beautiful, polluted view of home. Perhaps it was perfect in its own way, but seeing it sent a wave of homesickness over me. I remembered the factory near home, with its billowing pillars of smoke... Speaking of a pillar of smoke, there was one nearby, giving off a strong delicious scent of burning. The others didn't seem worried? And we were heading towards it? Remembering my first few minutes here, with Vlad, I realized they must be the Baths.

"Hey, Antonio?" asked Francis.

"What?"

"Where would be your favourite place?"

The brothers were walking on either side of me, nearly jogging to keep up with us. Cyanae was bickering with Roma, but in a friendly way.

Antonio nearly tripped over his toga and I had to catch him. "Thank you, Rio. A place down south, I suppose. A big, beautiful warm place, like Hispania, yes? I've always liked there."

"Really? It's always been a bit too warm for me." Francis looked thoughtful. "I've always liked Gaul. I've always admired the ferocity of the tribes- Rome still hasn't conquered Vercingetorix, I think that's really cool."

"But you love the ocean as much as me! What is this about you liking cold?"

"Ah..." Francis looked slightly embarrassed, running his hand through his hair. "I suppose I do like some of the beaches, and when the ocean is nice and warm, but I do love mountains. I love the alpine cold, and I would love to build a city up in the north, a beautiful city, warm in summer and cold in the winter."

"I thought you like the warmth like the rest of us." Antonio was almost upset.

"I like it here." Feliciano smiled from his perch on Roma's shoulder. "I love Rome."

"I've liked it a bit more south, but apart from that..." said Romano.

"It's good to know some of my grandsons like it here." Roma attempted to fake sadness and failed. We were approaching a giant building, or rather a bunch of buildings surrounded by a massive white wall. I noticed that all sorts of people were filing into the baths, from older people with whitish-purple togas to slaves. Interesting. We followed them, and got by a checkpoint of sorts, where everyone gave the slave there a small coin. Roma paid for us all, ignoring Cyanae's protests.

Inside the first room, I was surprised. That is the simplest way of putting it. This was a bath? The sunlight shone down on a giant- plaza? It looked like it, with marble walls and columns. A typical sight in any major old city, I'm sure, but this plaza differed in one important respect- it was flooded with water. People- some fully dressed, some in what looked like their underwear, were messing around in it, relaxing in the shade or playing games. A businessman sat with his clients, discussing matters, ignoring the fact they were both waist deep in water. Oddly, no one was swimming. There was also a raised place around it, with no water- it was that we walked on, Roma restraining Antonio from diving in.

We skirted around the water, exiting into the larger part of the bath, though I would have never called it a bath- where was the water? It was more like a giant collection of gardens, and statues, and peace. In the centre was another building, which seemed to be the cause of the smoke from earlier. On two of the four corners, there were libraries, with people reading and discussing, and in the other two were giant fountains, arcing out. One of the walls seemed to be a theatre, with an arena spotted with performers.

It was very peaceful, with everyone's chatter somehow quieter then outside and the traffic of the streets almost muted. I felt myself beginning to relax as we wandered through the gardens. I went off by myself for a while, finding a tree with the perfect branches to lie down in. I was then forced to help Heracles up, as he had apparently followed me. After a short kafuffle, we both found comfy places to lie down and rest. My gaze drifted off into the sky, and my eyes began to close of their own accord. It had been a busy day, and I was beginning to feel rather sleepy. Heracles had already nodded off.

"Oy." My face was rudely poked by someone. I opened my eyes to see a grumpy Antonio. Focusing behind him, I also saw Roma, supporting Antonio. How the hell did they manage to get up here? "We can't get into the water till everyone's here. Get down."

I yawned at him, and attempted to ignore him, until he pushed me. I may have been slightly very much unbalanced, and promptly fell off the tree. Rolling over, this time it was Roma by my side, somehow having leaped down. For a politician, he was surprisingly athletic. "Are you okay?" he asked anxiously.

"Yeah, yeah." I grumbled, standing up with his help, and then dusting myself off. Roma reached up and pulled Heracles and Antonio down from the tree, and the others, who had gathered around us, and we all proceeded towards the centre complex.

The next stage was the dressing room, which was interesting, but I discovered it was socially acceptable to leave one's tunic on, so I did. The others handed most of their clothing and my beautiful boots over to a servant, along with some money.

"This is the gymnasium." Feliciano explained as we entered the next room- and I suppose it did sort of resemble a modern-day gym, with people wrestling and running and playing versions of volleyball. There was also a game that the children immediately started playing- they rolled a hoop and then chased after it. Hadn't I seen that game somewhere before?

"Hey Rio! Come join our game!" Cyanae called, and waved me over to the weird version of volleyball. Cyanae, by the way, was dressed in what looked like a bikini. Anyway, the game- There was a line stretched across two sticks, and the object of the game seemed to be to get the ball onto the other side. _The only major difference_, I mused as I began to hit the ball across with Cyanae, _is that there are three different types of balls, and the game changes depending on which one- there is one the one with feathers, the one with sand, and the one with air. ...Okay, I'm enjoying myself._ There was a ringing sound, and the sound of whooping, and I ended up dashing out of the way as the children chased a hoop, with little bells on it, through our game. After yelling at them, the game was declared ended, with Cyanae and I on the losing team, but barely.

"What do you want to do next?" Cyanae asked, panting slightly. I looked around us, and noticed that there were a lot of people wrestling, and I became curious about the measure of strength. Could a modern-day state defeat an old greek empire?

"Want to wrestle?" I suggested. "Unless you're too tired?"

"Oh, don't be silly. I used to be quite the strong one when I was younger, and I haven't lost my strength yet!" Cyanae walked me over to where the majority of wrestling was occurring, and then promptly pounced on me.

Due to my states fighters, I was fairly strong, but lately I hadn't used them much. The only times I messed with my siblings or my dad was in play, and not as countries. However, I realized I was slightly stronger then Cyanae. We rolled over a few times, with her openly giggling and I fighting to suppress laughter. No matter how much simple ball games amused me, I really did like fighting. The match came to an end when I had held Cyanae down for a few moments, and when she recovered by rolling out of my grasp, we ended up knocking someone down.

"Sorry!" we yelled together.

"I should hope so."

"Roma?" I said as we stopped and looked towards him.

Roma sat up, grinning. "I see you two are having fun."

"I won!" I proclaimed happily, helping Cyanae sit up.

"Yes, yes you did." Cyanae sighed. "I guess I'm not as strong as I used to be..."

"Aww, I'm sure you're plenty strong! I'm just stronger!" I was elated on my victory.

"Oh really? Hey Rio, want to wrestle?" Roma managed to appear behind me again.

I tilted my head back to look at him. My theory about strength may not hold up in his case. A state versus the Roman Empire at its height? No way. It would be best to refuse graciously, make up some excuse about being tired. Shaking my head politely, I said "Sure!"

...

WHERE THE HELL DID THAT COME FROM?

* * *

Sorry about ranting a tad bit about the baths. They're just amazing. Also I keep putting in things that are me and not Rio, so I have to take them out, and it's annoying.


	7. Steam

"Hmmm?" Cyanae let out a small, questioning, inquisitive sound. "Roma, do you really think that's such a good idea?"

Roma and I had stood up, facing each other. "What are you worried about, Cyanae? That I'll hurt Roma?" As we moved a bit, him to the right and me to the left, my confidence was outwardly strong.

Roma had started to look like he was concentrating, but at my boast a smile flickered across his face. I noticed from the corner of my eye that the children had gathered nearby, bored with their game. Cyanae sighed. "Rio, you're going to regret this..."

Not heeding her warning, I instead faked an attack right; no reaction. I decided to use my favourite tactic, the one I used when I wanted attention; I lowered my head and charged right at him. However, he moved quickly out of the way, and I was forced to come to a skidding halt. I turned again, slightly upset. A few more attacks of mine went without contact, causing a small giggle from Cyanae, until an attack coupled with a kick finally connected, though barely. He made no sound. I flipped around, wary. Why did he make no sound? He was there, still just waiting. Then he yawned, and all of a sudden I found myself being forced on my back. I rolled out of the way, but he was on top and I had to fight exceptionally hard to not be trapped. It went on for a few more moments, but despite my best efforts, I ended up on my stomach with my arms forced behind my back as Roma sat on me. I continued to struggle, ignoring the pain and the laughter of the children until he twisted hard. I went limp at that. He bent down to the side of my head, and I saw he had a big smirk on his face. "Give up?" He asked, sounding slightly prideful.

"I will never surr- Ow! Ow! All right, I give up, just stop the goddamn twisting!" Roma chuckled, rubbing his face against mine before standing away from me. I continued scowling as I turned over and ignored his hand, standing up by myself. How about that. A modern-day person couldn't beat a Roman, even though he was just a politician! Then again, he did seem unnaturally strong for a government official. However, even with that excuse, I couldn't help but feel sheepish and upset that I had lost, especially after my excessive boasting. I was sure that I was going to win, but instead found myself easily defeated. I wiped my hand across my forehead, unsurprised to feel dampness.

"Do you want to continue to the tepidarium? Or do you want a rematch?" Roma grinned at me.

"...Let's keep going." I stretched my arms, containing a wince when I turned them a particular way. Clearly I was going to develop a few bruises in the morning. Roma nodded, and gathering the flock of children together, Cyanae led us towards the centre of the complex, where the building mentioned earlier stood with giant windows. The first room we entered, which Antonio, after teasing me for my failure, informed me was the tepidarium, was a large, lukewarm room.

"It's to help you sweat." He explained. "But because everyone's already doing that, we can skip it." Then, right before we entered the next room, he handed me a pair of wooden clogs. I was suitably confused, but everyone else was putting on a pair, so I decided not to question where he had acquired them from.

My first impression of the next room was that of familiar heat, reminding me of a spring day back home. Everything seemed like a mirage for a few moments, and I realized the room was filled with thick steam. After my eyes adjusted, I was astonished by the sheer size of the room. I remembered a cathedral I had once visited, and it seemed almost like that, with gigantic windows, and each inch of the ceiling and walls filled with colourful decorations. Staring up, I saw familiar scenes from mythology books in bright primary colours, and the walls were made of marble, different types carefully laid together; the floor was a black and white and yellow geometric pattern. There were several large tubs in the room, one of which Antonio was enthusiastically splashing around in, followed by Heracles. I was really starting to sweat in the heat, but my eyes were distracted to the ceiling, trying to remember a tale that involved the portrayed wolves.

Cyanae noticed my interest in the ceiling, and we walked to a nearby marble bench and sat on it, and she began to tell me some of the tales portrayed. I relaxed in the heat, drifting off into a hazy, receptively imaginative state as she traced the exploits of Hercules (Or Heracles as she said), Apollo, Diana, Orion-she ended with the creation of Rome, her dainty finger pointing out each exploit of the twin brothers.

"Oh? You are learning about my hi- sorry, my countries history?" Thankfully, I was deep in my meditative state, so I only jumped a little when Roma suddenly appeared beside me.

"Actually, she's learning about the history I- sorry, my people, taught your people, but then was corrupted." Cyanae leaned around me to talk to Roma.

"I would say my version is better, actually." Roma shot back.

"Laconium! Laconium!" Romano hollered silently.

"Oh yes, Rio, Romano wants to go into the Laconium, and he wanted to know if you wanted to come with us- I thought not, as you are so fragile, but he did insist-" Roma teased.

"I'll come." I didn't know what a Laconium was.

"Laconium!" Romano added. I followed them off into a side passage, and emerged in a desert.

Okay, that's not quite correct. I instead ended up in the hottest room I had ever been in, and not nice sweaty heat, but crackling, water-sucking heat. It must have been over a hundred and thirty degrees in there, reminding me distinctly of a trip to a desert in my home.

I shrugged relaxed, trying to look perfectly comfortable while avoiding touching the walls, because I had a distinct feeling that I did not want to add burns to my collection of bruises. "Feels like home." I commented in a faked bored tone. In truth, it was starting to get a bit uncomfortable.

Roma raised an eyebrow. "Then let's stay here a while. I quite like it as well." I shrugged again, with Romano putting on a brave face through his discomfort. After a minute or so, my mouth began to feel dry, and a small headache came on. Dehydration this quickly? I would have to be very careful, because fainting was the last thing I wanted to do after the fiasco of earlier.

Another minute passed, and I felt worse. Roma looked perfectly content. This wasn't good. I didn't want to lose this contest which I had made up. I carefully studied every movement of his, till he caught me looking and winked, at which I rolled my eyes and looked away. After a bit, I said "I'm going to take Romano back. He's not looking too good."

"Of course you are doing that for Romano's sake, not your own." Roma kept his tone even, but I suspected sarcasm. I picked up Romano, who was actually starting to look a bit woozy- Roma was an irresponsible guardian, come to think of it, and went back to the larger room. It now felt surprisingly cool. Roma followed behind me, and immediately sighed. "Good thing we left when we did. I'm not used to spending so long in that heat. I was going to faint or something."

I spun around, mouth open in surprise. "Wait what? But... But..."

He looked at me, that annoying smile back in place, and tilted his had slightly. "Hmmm?"

"Nothing. " I muttered. _I had gone through that for nothing? True, it was a contest I had made up in my head, but still!_

Romano walked around in circles for a few moments, and all three of us breathed in the delicious moistened air. I felt my headache slip away. I would be sure to drink a lot when we got back to the Domus, but for now I was fine. Romano somehow seemed to be in perfect condition. Probably took after his grandfather.

"Are you done making fools of yourselves?" Cyanae asked sharply when we walked over to her. She was playing with the other children in one of the basins. They seemed content in the exquisitely hot water, forcing me to the conclusion that Romans were, in fact, strange.

"Let's skip the frigidarium." Roma suggested, ignoring Cyanae's remark.

"That's the cold room. It looks sort of like this place, except the opposite." Explained Feliciano when I looked confused.

Cyanae agreed. "It's Rio's first time, and it's never too good for the children." They turned to me, as if seeking my opinion on the matter. I had never been too fond of cold.

"I'll be okay with skipping it. What's next, then?"

Roma laughed. "So eager! We'll run out of things for you to do!"

Antonio, instead of teasing, started yelling "Pool! Pool!" And with that, I was led out of the inner bathing complex to the pool I had seen at the beginning the one that looked like a flooded plaza. I jumped in with Antonio, and the others followed slightly slower. Antonio splashed around, happily, while Cyanae rested with Heracles by a column. Francis started messing with Feliciano, crouching under the water and grabbing his ankle. Romano was splashing Roma. I decided to go for a swim, and started swimming. It felt really nice; but that implies the rest of the experience was not pleasant, which was certainly not true. I emerged to find Antonio staring curiously. "What were you doing? You were moving through the water, but you weren't touching the ground?"

I blinked, surprised. Had Antonio never seen anyone swim? Then again, looking around me, I noticed that no one was swimming. Perhaps it was not common knowledge? How strange. "I was swimming." I explained. "Do you want to know how?" Antonio nodded excitedly, and I spent the next few minutes teaching him how to dog paddle. He caught on quickly, and soon I was forced to explain the concept to the other children. Cyanae ended up joining us, proving herself to be an adept swimmer, no surprise there, and Roma wasn't bad. After a few races, of which I was quite proud to win one (that was the one that Cyanae sat out and Roma accidentally inhaled water part the way through), we climbed out, probably because Francis had started to yawn, even when he was under the water.

I followed them to another room, all the while pondering my unfortunate reliance on other people to navigate my way around these places. _I should attempt to memorize these places as quickly as possible,_ I thought. The room was filled with seals.

Again, that statement is not correct, but very reminiscent of my first impression. To be more accurate, the room was filled with tables on which people were laying, having slaves massage oil into them. They did sort of look like seals, especially some of the fatter ones. Other people were leaning against columns or sitting down, waiting for their turn. However, when Roma entered, somehow we all managed to get a spot ahead of the other waiting people. I was not looking forward to the massage, and even when I was lain down on my stomach on a table, I was still wary. I don't like strange people touching me, and flinched at the first touch. But soon expert fingers forced me to relax, and I let out a sound of contentment. The others were somewhat near me, and glancing around, they all looked equally content. Come to think of it, looking at Roma, this calmness seemed unusual. Each, even to some extent the four grandchildren, had some sign of weary wariness on them, but that was being oiled away. Roma still looked partly guarded, however, even with his eyes half-shut. I suppose some things never go completely.

What was he? Seriously, I couldn't figure out, and it really did intruge me. I had him pinned as a politician, content and sluggish as the maximum of his reign, happy and playful, but then he was so randomly serious. Suddenly this way and suddenly that... Who was he?

* * *

So ya. The Laconium was the hottest room in the baths, and teenagish boys challenged each other to see who could stay in the longest. And it was advised for women to skip the frigidarium- interestingly enough, some men who did, because of the sudden shift in temperature, go deaf. Romans who didn't live the water normally didn't know how to swim.


	8. Familiaris

We had all redressed, and, after seeing Cyanae and Heracles home (It was getting dark) we headed back to the dark Domus. I was carrying Antonio and Romano- I wasn't actually sure when I'd picked them up, come to think of it- who were sleepily whispering interspersed with short naps. Francis and Feliciano were resting on Roma, and had both passed out. Roma had offered to carry all of the children, but I had scowled. It was very noisy, due to people pushing around us, but not one of us made a loud noise, giving the odd impression of a bubble of silence surrounded by noise.

"Roma? What do you do for a living?" I had wondered about his current status (whether he was a fighter or a politician), until it occurred to me just to ack.

It took a few moments for Roma to respond. "That is a personal question, Rio."

"It is? Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize."

"You don't feel comfortable asking me personal questions?"

This time it was I who hesitated to respond. "Well, I've known you less than a day. But you have invited me to stay at your house, and... well..." I've never been fond of expressing my emotions outright to strangers, and began to stumble over my words. "I guess, you took me in, when I didn't have anywhere else to go, so, I suppose, I don't really have any right to ask you anything, because you've been so nice, though I guess its creepy- but still nice- I'm not trying to be rude- I... what is that word? I... I trust you. And I guess part of me wants to know why."

Stretched out, the silence started to grow tense. "Don't drown the cheesecake!" Romano murmured from my shoulder before passing out again. Roma wasn't responding, but rather digesting what I had said, making me feel so sheepish I considered baa'ing.

"I'm not sure you answered my question."

"What?" It took me a few moments to remember what the question was, actually. "Oh. Um. I don't know? Are you okay with me asking you personal questions?"

"Well, letting you ask me these questions would imply that we were more than acquaintances. Do you think we are acquaintances?" Roma looked partly serious.

Finally, a question I knew the answer to. "You gave me bread. We wrestled. I'm carrying your grandchildren. For the moment I'm living at your house. And most importantly you gave me bread. We're defiantly closer than acquaintances."

Roma let out a rolling laugh and unexpectedly tussled my hair, causing me to temporarily half-flinch. "You are my familiaris, then."

Before I had a chance to ask what 'familiaris' meant, (and before he had answered my question!) we arrived at the door of the domus, and Elizabeta was running towards us happily, waving her new knife around.

"We protected the house!" she said proudly.

"You did, did you?" Roma bent down gently. "And no one came?"

"Nope! Well, yes, but he just talked to Laura!"

"It was a representative of Hadrian." We had walked close enough to the door that Laura could communicate without breaking her watch. "He-" she broke off, glancing at me.

Roma put a hand on my shoulder. "Rio is my familiaris." That word again.

Laura looked at me with her eyes narrowed. I stared back, having no idea what was going on. She seemed... suspicious? Of course. Like her brother, she was nervous. "Yes sir." She was still staring at me. "He talked about a meeting for Dacia- but he hinted at Germania-"

"He still wants Germania?" I turned to see Roma running a hand through his head, looking slightly tired. "Did you give him a response?"

"I told him you would be meeting with the usual people at the usual time and place."

Roma chuckled slightly. "Typically well handled. Come along, Rio- I'm sure you are getting as hungry as the children." Indeed, Francis was beginning to moan about bread. "Elizabeta, why don't you go wake Abel so that Laura can make us dinner?" Elizabeta excitedly ran off to do her job, and I followed Roma inside. That was interesting, actually. Before now, Roma had always asked me what I wanted to do, but had that changed? We headed off to another room that I hadn't seen before- Roma informed me it was the Triclinium, and that we ate there. Vlad quickly appeared, and served bread. The children chewed on it, but I wasn't hungry. Roma reclined on a couch, but I didn't want to do that either. For a moment, I felt like a spoiled child- one that doesn't want to do that, doesn't want to do this, but if you asked them what they wanted to do, they would stare blankly. Not a pleasant state, for me and anyone else who had to interact with me. Then, as I watched Vlad leave, I got an idea.

"Hey Roma? Can I go talk to Sadiq?" Vlad stopped leaving at this, and slowly twisted to stare at me. Roma turned his head, opening his eyes. He blinked lazily. "Now why does my little familiaris want to talk to that insubordinate?"

"I don't know." I started fiddling with my fingers. "I think there was something I wanted to ask him, but I don't know what." It was so natural to slip into this subordinate position.

Roma watched me through half closed eyes, before opening his mouth to sigh at me. "You are pathetic at asking what you want to ask, Rio."

"Why thank you."

"You can go. Vlad?" Vlad had looked very surprised, but then nodded. He gestured to me, and I followed him out, because as normal I had no idea where I was. Or perhaps Roma thought I needed guarding? Either way, Vlad led me to Sadiq's 'room'.

When we opened the door, there was silence from inside. We could see Sadiq clearly- he was curled up facing away from us in the centre of the room- but he didn't move. Vlad grabbed the sword hanging from the outside, but I scowled at him. If Roma could handle him without weapons, so could I. Clearly my ego hadn't taken a permanent beating from earlier. I sauntered over to Sadiq, and sat down behind him, indicating to Vlad that he should join me. Vlad hesitated, looking at the sword, then shrugged and sat with me. "So Vlad, if you could have a superpower, what would it be?"

Vlad blinked. "What? What's a.. super power?"

Apparently combining the words super and power did not make a proper translation. "Like, um, an ability that most mortals don't have. The ability to fly, or hold ones breath forever, or manipulate fire."

"… The ability to use magic?"

"Like be able to cast spells from a book and things?"

"Exactly. That's always been a dream of mine, but since I'm so far from home it's hard to learn magic."

"You have magic at home?"

"Uh-huh. We have witches and wizards everywhere. I was training to be like them, before, you know."

"Ah. Yes." Awkward silence.

"What power would you want to have, Rio?"

"…Never missing a shot would be nice."

"You know archery?"

"Um, yes." Actually I knew more about guns, but I had some knowledge of archery. "Because I'll occasionally hunt for my food, and there are a few competitions- it would be nice to win in one."

"Really? I wouldn't have expected that of you."

"What's that supposed to mean? Do you think I'm not strong? Huh?"

"Nono!" Vlad hadn't realized I was only teasing. "It's just that you have smooth hands and everything, like someone who does a lot of indoor work." I looked down at my hands, and then glanced at his. He was right. My calluses had mostly healed from gold-digging and all the other activities I had engaged in as a child.

"Stopping time." Came a voice from the lump in front of us, also known as Sadiq.

"What?" One of us said that, I can't remember who.

"I want the ability to stop time."

I frowned. It annoyed me that everyone got that wrong. "You mean stop and start time. It would be pretty useless otherwise. You'd just be in a frozen world! That would be like-"

"Paridise." Sadiq finished for me.

"Exactly! Wait what?"

"Can you imagine it? To be able to wander the world however you chose. Nothing could stop you. Nothing could hurt you. No empires would fall, no friends would die, and no wonders could be burned to the ground, over and over again, over and over…." Sadiq's wave of thoughts crashed against our ears, drifting away, before building again." You could read every book, climb every mountain. Wouldn't that be wonderful? No more worries, no more lies. I could watch the sunset forever." He drew in a shaky breath.

Vlad and I were silent, until I felt I had to say something. "I think… I think there are some things that I would miss. Like talking to you all. Because, well, I didn't know you to begin with, and maybe later you'll drift out of my mind forever- but that doesn't matter. You're here now, and I'll enjoy this moment, treasure it, but I'm not going to hold on to it forever. Time flies." Here I felt slightly poetical, or perhaps punny. "And to clip its wings would be a terrible thing to do."

Sadiq spoke again, but this time it was the voice of innocence emerging from his rusted throat. "Do you really think so?"

I didn't say anything. I didn't need to, I think. "Life isn't worth living without friends." Vlad broke the silence suddenly.

"I suppose." I responded.

"I don't have any friends now Carthage is dead." Sadiq had begun to turn towards us, but then closed himself up.

"Aw, Sadiq, I'll be your friend!" To me, back in my home, this was something you were supposed to do when someone said something like this. Evidently, this wasn't a common reaction here, judging by how Vlad's mouth twitched into a smile and Sadiq turned back towards me.

"Really?" he asked.

"Yeah." Sadiq gazed at me, and his eyes, so blank, started to focus. He sat up, and slowly, inordinately slowly, moved towards me, and then hugged me. I embraced him, surprised, but my surprise was nothing compared to Vlad, who looked completely stunned. It was weird. Sadiq stunk badly, and cuddled too tightly, like he was trying to squeeze affection out of me, it was too dark, it was starting to get awkward, but I didn't want to let go. It was a happy moment. Or perhaps I was just an indescribably strange person.

After a while, perhaps a minute or so, Vlad coughed awkwardly. "Dinner's probably ready." I sniffed the air. It did smell like fish.

"Hey Sadiq? You have to stay here, all right?"

Sadiq murmured dimly. "The dark…"

"I'm sorry."

"You'll be back?"

"I'll be back." I tried my best not to sound like the Terminator.

Sadiq nodded, but I had to be the one to pull away. Vlad and I walked out and shut the door, ignoring the uncomfortable air. "You have a big heart, huh?" said Vlad. I neglected to answer him, and we arrived in the dining room. Vlad nodded to me, and headed off to serve the dishes.

I'm forced to admit that dinner was sort of a blur. I was deep in thought, though I did notice Roma looking a bit worried. I'm sure some of the others ate dinner with us, but I couldn't tell you who. One thing I did remember was that it sucks eating on a couch like that. The arm that supported my plate started cramping after about five minutes. Dinner was finished, and it was time to sleep- that's when I zoomed back to focus, because I was curious to know the sleeping arrangements, and questioned Roma as to such. "Well, normally Carol sleeps in my room, and Abel keeps night watch, Vlad does deliveries, and the others choose where they want to sleep. You're welcome to sleep wherever you want, though Arthur did fix up a place for you."

My own uncle fixing up a place to stay for me? Oh this was too good.

"What, anywhere?"

"Well, I wouldn't suggest outside, because you will most likely get mugged. I tend to snore, so I wouldn't suggest my room, though my beds open if you want to-" I put on a disgusted face, causing him to snort. I sort of liked him, but not to that degree. "Seriously, I'm not bothered." We were walking to his room. He and Carol wished me goodnight, and shut the door. I stared at it for a while. Now what? I had an idea, see, but I wasn't sure what it was. Goddamit. Sometime I really wish I knew what I was thinking. I began to wander the halls- thankfully Vlad had given me a candle before heading out- and eventually ended up in front of a door, familiar and yet unfamiliar. I blinked at it, but it had no reaction, probably because it was not a sentient life form.

Hang on… Sadiq? No one was supposed to talk to him. But Roma had said I could sleep anywhere, 'seriously, anywhere', and later orders overrode previous orders, right? Right? I may have been nervous, and ashamed at myself for being such a wimp. Overcoming my strange fear, I pushed open the door. Sadiq turned towards me immediately, looking slightly confused.

"What-" he began.

"Shush." I closed the door quietly. "I'm not really supposed to be doing this." I whispered to the emptiness. "But I didn't want you to spend the night alone, and I'm kind of used to cuddling with a sibling or Divina while I sleep. Please don't take this the wrong way, or my girlfriend will kill me with a spatula."

Sadiq made a sound, but it didn't sound like a word to me. It was an interesting sound, a cross between an exclamation mark and a sob. I was grateful because it allowed me to locate him in the dark. Putting out a hand, I located his face, and after a few moments managed to cuddle up with him. He really did stink, but some of my siblings had smelled worse than that. Then his breath became more ragged, and I made a sound of curiosity. "Sadiq, are you crying?"

"I'm not." Sadiq sobbed. I decided the wisest course of action would be to believe him, and ignore the fact my shoulder was growing wet. After a few minutes, he calmed, and it wasn't long before his breath and mine grew slower and regular. There was a reason I liked sleeping in a bed with someone else- there was a sense of communication that you didn't get from anything else. I wasn't thinking that then. I wasn't really thinking of anything, except heartbeats and breath, and how Sadiq's stubble tickled me awkwardly, and how my shoulder was wet, and how the floor was cold- but even those sensations began to fade away into sleep.

* * *

SENTIMENT? Yes, that was sentiment. Urm... as I normally dislike OCXcanon pairings, the most you're probably going to see is some flirting, Rio crushing on one or two people, and friendship. Hadrian was the emperor after Trajan. The Triclinium was the really formal room with all the couches instead of normal chairs. Really the only reason I included here was that I couldn't think of anywhere else it would even half way go. I slipped in a reference to LoadingArtist, kudos if you know it. Does Carol sleep in Roma's room? Yes, yes he does, and I'll leave your little perverted minds to think of exactly what that entails, because whatever you're thinking, it is fairly accurate for the time period. Thank you all for reading this far! If you review I will fly higher then a cupcake!


	9. Nundinae

As was stated earlier, I'm used to cuddling up with someone when I sleep, and I couldn't tell you if Sadiq had woken up first, because if he had he didn't move. Thus, my first sensation was that of light, and of a slowly foreboding aura, quickly followed by a tightening grasp. After letting out a string of words vaguely resembling a prayer for more sleep, I bothered to open my eyes. Let's see... I was in a floor and cuddling someone who stunk. What did this mean? The events of yesterday were taking a while to filter back into my mind.

"Rio. Sadiq." Who was that? An angry person, yes, but a familiar person, with a strong acquainted accent- he didn't pronounce my name like it was English, but rather like it was... Latin? Oh. Roma. That would explain why Sadiq was attempting to squeeze me to death. I pried Sadiq away from me and wacthed Roma cagily.

"Yeees?"

Roma was standing in the doorway with an unreadable face, though I, from the aura of doom he was emitting, guessed he might be slightly upset. Possibly. Carol and Atanas were behind him, looking slightly worried. "Come here, Rio. Now." Roma clearly wasn't messing around. Whatever. He was a nice guy, right?

I gave Sadiq one last hug, mouthing 'I'll be back', before standing up and heading over to Roma, head held high like a moron. When I had left the room, Roma reached around me and shut the door. Unconsciously, I folded my arms for protection and obstinacy.

"Carol." Roma didn't growl, but it sounded like he should of.

"Yes sir?" Carol squeaked.

"Did Rio receive permission to visit Sadiq?"

"Well, you did say that she could sleep wherever she wanted...sir..."

Roma remained soundless, watching me in a more guarded fashion then I had watched him. However, I had the moral high ground, correct? I wasn't going to apologize because he had technically said I could do what I wanted, and the way he had treated Sadiq was wrong. There was no way I was going to say sorry. The silence stretched, broken only by my growling stomach. "We were worried about you." He said flatly. Oh. "You didn't show up to breakfast. Francis started crying because there wasn't anyone to fight over bread with. Even Abel and Laura were worried, because it's their job to make sure the inhabitants of this house are safe. It wasn't until Carol and Atanas remembered how you had taken an interest in Sadiq that we checked here."

"You were...worried about me?" I was confused. "I'm... I'm sorry." So much for not apologizing. My eyes began to drift to the floor, and my fingers nervously fidgeted. "I wanted... no... I felt sorry for Sadiq, and I didn't want him to spend the night alone."

"You make yourself sound so selfless, Rio. You made your friends worry about you. Why didn't you tell anyone?" It wasn't a cutting tone, but it still tore my sense of morality.

"I... I guess I didn't think of that.

"You didn't think of that."

"I guess was thinking of only what directly affected me, and not what would happen to others...I'm kind of an idiot, huh?" I nervously looked back up at Roma, a weak smile playing on my lips. He was still not giving off any sign of emotion. The tension in the room grew, affecting even Atanas and Carol.

"You really are an idiot." And then I was hugged. "Never, ever do this again, do you understand?"

"Yes sir!" I said. Wait, why was I calling him sir? My stomach growled again, louder this time. Roma released me with his normal smile. Sometimes I found that smile really annoying, but this time I found it one of the best things in the world.

"I see someone wants breakfast. Why don't you run along with Carol and grab some bread? You can inform everyone that you're okay as well." I nodded, feeling like a small child who had been scolded, and dashed off with Carol. As soon as we were in the atrium- and after I had comforted the children- I let out a relieved sigh.

"Why was I scared? Seriously, there was no reason for me to be scared. Roma is one of the nicest guys I know, and yet when he's angry..." I wondered out loud.

"Grandfather is a leader." Feliciano spoke knowledgably, but managed to completely confuse me.

"Huh?" Then I thought about what he had said, and realized it made sense. I kept having a distinct feeling that I was supposed to do what he told me to, even though I barely knew him. This was probably one of the reasons he had become such a powerful empire. I stole some of Francis's bread distractedly, thinking.

"So I heard someone decided it would be good idea to wrestle with Roma yesterday?" chuckled Carol.

"Oh, you had to bring that up?" I glowered light-heartedly, touching a small bruise developing on my side.

"He did! He did! Rio lost! It was great!" yelled Antonio, bouncing up and down.

"Actually, lost is quite a mild way of putting it. I would say more like I was completely annihilated." My voice was muffled by delicious bread.

"That's not how I heard it." I turned to look at Carol, temporarily bewildered. "No seriously! Roma said that you were pretty good!"

"I died in about five seconds!"

"That's pretty good for someone going up against Roma. He said that if he was going to give you a job, it would probably be as a door guard like Abel and Laura- except you do get way too distracted, and you wouldn't be able to detect a sneak attack."

"What? I totally know when someone's behind me!"

"Oh really?" came Roma's voice from behind me.

I didn't even bother to turn around. "Well, except when it's you, Roma."

"What was your job back in the Youess?" Roma came and sat by my side.

"Huh... I guess I really didn't have a job. Most in the Youess don't start working, at least not full-time, until they are older than I. But I did hunt, because I'm a really good shot." Great, now I was calling it the Youess.

"Hmmm..." Roma was deep in thought, or perhaps just distracted; it was hard to tell. "Anyway, so I'm going to be working late today-"This proclamation brought howls of protest from the children- "But I'll meet you at Tameri's for lunch, okay?" Apparently 'working late' had a different meaning to a Roman. "Oh, and you little ones need to study today." The grandchildren groaned in a surprisingly familiar manner to how I remembered doing so. Clearly, some things hadn't changed. "Oh come now, you had yesterday off!" His logic did not calm the whines of the children. Roma chuckled, and began leading the four children out. The others who had been there began to depart in an orderly fashion, leaving me mildly left out of place. Thankfully, Atanas noticed my predicament.

"You should go with Vlad to the market, Rio."

Markets? Markets did not sound fun. "What are you and Carol going to be doing?"

"Cleaning, mostly."

"Where's Vlad again?" Anything but cleaning, however.

A few moments of getting lost later, I located Vlad attempting to distract two children away from their game. "Hey Vovochka." I greeted him, helping him by forcibly grabbing one of the children. "Mind if I come with you to the market? I don't really have anything else to do."

"Sure!" Vlad smiled at me. It was a different smile from Roma's. His was much more innocent and open- Roma's always had the hint of being guarded. I think I liked it more. "Roderich-" he spoke to the child on the ground, who was grumpy at having his lyre taken away-"You know you only got this on the condition that you would pay attention to your work. And Vash-" he spoke to the child I was holding "you should not distract him so!"

"Aww..." Vash sulked as I put him down. "I was just starting to have fun..." Roderich was sulking silently, but both children and I followed Vlad out onto the streets, after a few baskets were acquired. Switzerland and Austria? They used to be friends? Interestingly, both Laura and Abel were there. Didn't Abel sleep at this time? I was even more confused when Abel began to follow us. I watched him with suspicious innocence, though he neglected to say anything.

"Vovochka-"

"Do you really have to call me that?"

"Yes. Why is Abel stalking us?"

"He's not stalking us. He was very worried about you this morning, and after talking it over with Roma, they decided that he should accompany you when you're out, especially when you leave Caelian Hill."

"Caelian Hill?"

"...That's the hill we're on." Vash looked at me like I was an idiot. "In Sector II. In the capital of the Roman Empire?"

"I'm not an idiot, you know." I retorted. Abel snorted, and I glared at him. "Don't be mean." I looked back at Vash. "Where are we going, then, little smart person?" Vash opened his mouth to respond, then realized he didn't know.

"To a Nundinarum for some fresh vegetables, though we'll hurry because it's nearly the fourth hour, but then we are probably going to drop in at Trajan's Forum to get some nice meat." Vlad said.

"A Nundinarum is a market that occurs each eigth day, and Trajan's Forum is a macella- a permanent market." Vash informed me. "I assume you can figure out that we have to hurry to the Nundinarum because more popular things sell out." He pronounced 'permanent' and 'assume', or rather their Latin equivalents, slightly off and as if they were the most intelligent words in the world.

"Oh hush, you didn't know where we were going. And I really don't like having someone follow me everywhere."

"Get used to it. You aren't dying on my watch. I don't like you, but you're family." Remember how I mentioned that yesterday we were surrounded by an invisible bubble of avoidance due to Roma? Well, Roma wasn't here with us, and as a consequence we were being squished from every side. Abel steered us away from the most crowded streets, not because of discomfort, but rather for safety. This time, as we walked through Rome, I questioned Vlad as to our location and our route, and both he and Vash happily informed me. I wanted to get a better grasp on this city, seeing how I was going to be here for a while, though apparently not without someone with me.

No, I wasn't going to let this go. True it was my own fault, but I did not like being forced to stay with someone I didn't like. Well, no I didn't not like him, but you know, I didn't know him very well. Though I would know him better with hanging out with him all the time. So there wasn't really a problem. So I didn't actually know why I was upset. Dammit, mind. There was a reason why I didn't talk to you.

My quiet, mildly deranged mumbling to myself were ignored as I was navigated around splashing mud (Or what I hoped was mud), horses, and other loud and noisy things. After a while, we reached what I was told was the Nundinarum, though it more resembled a large, random mess of people yelling each other at the top of their lungs.

"All right." Vlad turned authoritatively towards us. "We need eggs, milk, figs, cabbage, strawberries, apples..." He went on to list a few more perishable items, several of which I failed to translate. "Rio, you and Abel can go get the fruit, Vash and Roderich, you two go get the dairy products, and I'll get the rest." I opened my mouth to inquire the safety of the two children, but shut up instead as Vlad handed out money to each of us. He probably had a good reason. "Abel is good at negotiating, Rio, in case you want to just let him handle it."

"Really? He seems kind of quiet." I was sceptical of this new fact. Abel looked at me, and grinned slightly. I continued to look at him apprehensively as the others departed, Vash and Roderich holding hands (So cute!) and yelling at people.

"Shall we go?" Abel held out a hand. "Come, we should go arm in arm. It'll help us get lower prices."

"...Sure..." I did not believe it would help, but no one here seemed quite sane. We proceeded to walk arm in arm as we walked towards a vendor, and he proceeded to ask the price of apples.

"One apple, one dupondi." Said the man behind the counter, looking firm and surly. Actually, he didn't look all that surly, but something told me that all vendors were supposed to look surly.

"What? Do you take me for a fool?" And so the bantering began, with Abel demonstrating such a wide range of emotions I was quite taken aback. The goods were produced and inspected, the most trivial flaws emphasized until even the man was forced to agree a reduction in price would be suitable. We walked away with me carrying at least ten apples acquired for a mere sestertius, which I was told was worth two dupondi. The following the vendors were taken down with an equally dramatic flair, sometimes Abel relying on a fictional story about I, his pregnant wife, demanding a certain food. I was quite upset at being referred too in such a way, but thankfully possessed such wits as to shut my mouth about it, as the ten sesterri we were given had managed to buy so much food I was severely laden down.

We met with the others at the corner of the Nundiarum. Vlad, quite unexpectedly, frowned at the site of all the food we had acquired. "Abel! We cannot eat that much in a week! What happened to your sense? Don't tell me you were showing off." Abel didn't say anything, having reverted back to his mute state. Vlad muttered under his breath about Germanic scum, before unloading me of some of my groceries.

"Is Volodimirko a little mad?" I inquired.

"Lets get moving. We want to meet Roma for lunch, like he told us too, so we need to get to the Marcella."

* * *

SO HARD TO FIND INFORMATION ABOUT THE NUNDINARUM. I ended up extrapolating from some accounts of a Marcella. Because, yes, I research this stuff, as I have no life. I was considering putting the Domus on the Arx peak of the Capitoline Hill, in sector VIII because it's described as the heart of Rome, (Totally wasn't showing off) but it is reserved for emperors and gods, and I figured Roma would be slightly more discrete. So he's in the richest sector, II. If anyone reading this is an italophile who sees a mistake, please correct me!


	10. Egypt

I won't bore you with the details of the purchases made at Trajan's forum, as they were very similar to the Nundianum; but the structure of the forum was actually kind of cool. First, at the entrance was an extraordinarily tall column topped with what I was told was a statue of Trajan, with libraries to either side, though I only saw these for a few moments due to being pushed around by the people. And what people there were! You'd have thought one would see mostly Italians here, pale skin and dark hair, but this was a melting pot, the likes of which would make New York jealous. There were Germanic folk, ones who I presumed were Scottish due to their red hair, women with lovely dark skin and eyes outlined in Kohl and so many others, mixes of Asian and European and African, all pushing past and yelling in Latin. It was a very strange combination, but also a wonderful one. Like a non-polluted version of my San Francisco.

Past the column, there was a large wall, and not an elegant one, like most architecture here, but sturdy and thick, meant to separate the left, a place of administration, from the right, the Marcella filled with thousands of flammable things. It was to the right we went, and encountered what seemed to me to be a higher class place- it wasn't an open market, like the Nundianum, but rather several shops with some spilling out into the street. I also discovered the Roman method of counting on ones fingers, due to several gestures by Abel. None of which I remember, besides the fact that the pistol gesture made with the left hand means three and that it's possible to count up to a million. The gesture for a million was putting your hands over your heads with the fingertips touching, like in ballet. We did our shopping faster than last time, Abel showing off as normal, and then it was quick trip back up Caelian hill to the Domus, where the others helped us carry everything inside, to a cool part of the house. Our catch contained fish and beef- the cows here were tiny, by the way, but also some flamingo that Abel had managed to acquire for a relatively inexpensive amount. (He was very proud of this, though Laura, on seeing it, starting moaning about how hard it would be to cook it, and hit her brother on the head). Vlad then declared it was time for him to sleep, and Vash and Roderich were informed that it was time for household chores.

Me and Abel then picked up the children from their school, which took place in one of the quiet gardens placed around Rome- I took a few moments to marvel at it, with its statues tucked away in every niche, and its overwhelming presence of silence. The children were drifting off from a lecture about mythology, and were quite happy when the teacher declared school over. They raced over to me, and after Antonio yelled about boats happily, Abel led us away.

Abel yawned. "Aww, are you tired, Abel?" I questioned.

"Am not. Don't be so informal with me." He yawned again.

"Seriously, when we get back to the house, you really ought to have a nap. You're no good like this."

Abel looked at me, and I could see that his eyes were beginning to get blurry with sleep. "You may be right."

"I'm always right." I answered.

"Oh really?" Romano joined in the conversation. "Always right, huh?"

"Well, except when I'm not." I amended my statement. "But that's rare."

"Really?" Romano wasn't letting this go. "Rarely?"

"Yes." I shot back. "Medium rare." My joke fell flat, but thankfully was ignored.

We arrived at the Popina, which was similar to Cyanae's, except with a slightly messier look, like it hadn't been cleaned in a while. Appropriately, the people were of a lower class, and more brawls had broken out. Those fighting were pushed out by a lady with a stick.

The lady, I presumed, was Tameri Hassan or Egypt, slightly more violent than Cyanae. She certainly had an Egyptian look, though with no Kohl decorating her dark eyes. (Is it bad I assosiate Kohl with ancient Egypt?) Her long black hair was mostly covered by a headscarf, kept in place by a gold band, the only sign of richness on her. She wore a long tunic, vaguely like Cyanae's, except it was pure white. As for age, it was hard to tell. For now, concentrated in her job, she looked fairly ageless, with those lovely large brown eyes. A little one was behind the counter- Gupta? Was dressed in traditional young-roman fashion, washing some dishes. Roma wasn't there yet. We approached the counter, soon met by Tameri. "Hello, children- Abel! You normally don't come to visit? And who is your friend?"

The children chimed hello, while Abel just nodded mutely, leaving it to me to respond. "My names Rio. I'm a visitor here, so Roma took me in."

"More then took him in, he's Familiaris!" I still didn't know what that term meant, but as Tameri sucked in a breath of air disappointedly, I decided it might not be so amazing.

"The usual for you all, then? Abel, I know you love your wine with a bit of 'the juice' mixed in, but we're short, so how about some mandrake?"

"What's 'the juice'?" I asked.

"Oh, that's right, you're new here, huh? It's a wonderful substance that enhances the soothing quality of wine. Mandrakes also quite tasty. Do you want to try some?"

"Sure!" Part of me was hearing the various adults in my life telling me not to drink, but another side figured that I had before all these silly alcohol rules, and I'd smoked a bit of weed before, so I may as well vary my poisons. But what was mandrake? A plant, thank you very much brain, that wasn't much help. We sat down at the table, and food was doled out by Gupta. I glanced curiously at my wine, and began sipping it. It tasted like wine, obviously, but with a hint of... tomatoes? That must be the mandrake. Kind of tasty... I don't remember how long I was sipping it slowly, but it was quite a while.

"Eat something before you drink all of it, Rio." Abel said. He had a very clear voice, didn't he? Then again, everything was very clear, very bright, very sharp. But, you know, in a nice way. Very nice way. I giggled. This was like weed, except different.

"Rio? Do you have wine back in your country?" Francis asked.

"Some..." I said after a while, after admiring Francis's pretty hair, trying to remember what I was going to say. "But, y'know, you're not supposed to drink it until you're older then I am. And it tastes... different?"

"So you've never drunk wine before?"

"Well, once..." I idly dunked my bread in the wine and munched on it. So tasty. Tasty-tasty. Tasty-tasty-tasty-tasty.

"Once?" someone said. It was a pretty voice, that. I giggled again. "Tameri, how much mandrake did you put in the drink of my little familiaris?" Was that Roma? It could be. His voice sounded like... a wet dog, but, in a nice way. A sort of forest smell, a bright stain, iron blood. Columns and sketches.

"I don't know, about fifty drops?" Desert. Fallen empires. Lost love, wisdom, tiredness, a hint of fear, the smell of water and adventure. I was staring at the table, watching the lines move like waves.

My world became turned on its side, slowly rotating from left to right. Abel was shaking me. "Dammit. Rio?" Cold, and gold, and remembrances of being sold. Windmills, tulips, skating on frozen canals. The table looked soft. I put my face on it. The darkness swirled around my mind, seeking the little corners, as my pinkies danced away.

I woke up suddenly in a bed. "Arms, check, legs, check, vision, check, hearing, check, nose, check, clothes, check. I'm good." This was a check I did every time I woke up in a strange location. No, this morning wasn't a strange location, I was cuddling someone. Next step, look around after sitting up. Roma was grinning at me from his chair, a book in his hands. I could hear noises from downstairs. "Hey Roma. What happened? The last thing I remember is dancing pinkies."

"Well it turns out that giving you wine and drugs isn't a good combination. You passed out mumbling about columns and water. Abel and Tameri helped pull you upstairs."

"Why isn't Abel here? I thought he was following me today."

"He was, but he was looking pretty tired, so I sent him home with some wine and the children."

"Oh." I looked at Roma, my head swimming slightly. "How long have I been out?"

"About an hour, which is good, considering you only had one glass."

"Oh." I swung out of bed, going to stand up, and promptly stumbled into Roma. "Sorry. And you were... taking care of me this entire time?" I asked as he pushed me back to sitting on the bed and handed me my boots.

"Well, I was reading." He held up his book. "But you're my familiaris! I've got to take care of you."

"What am I supposed to do at your house, by the way?" I tugged on my boots. "Because it's not like I'm a guest, exactly, but its hard finding something useful to do."

"As I said, you're my familiaris- but you want something to do?" Roma held out a hand to help me up, and I gratefully accepted it, ignoring the beginnings of a headache. That couldn't be from the wine. The mandrake, then?

"Well... I suppose? I guess I want to be useful? I don't know. It's confusing." We descended the stairs, into the Popina's rush hour. Roma was nodding thoughtfully. Why was I so eager, to, essentially, serve? If Alfred was even half the country Roma was, in terms of influence and such, he'd be so much more poweful...

Tameri rushed past. "Rio, can you help by washing some dishes?" she yelled behind her.

"Sure!" I yelled back, and relieved Gupta of dish-washing eager to help out. Roma laughed. "What?" I asked, but he just chuckled at me. Muttering under my breath about incomprehensible Romans, I started cleaning off the dishes and passing them to Gupta and Tameri. "Are you going to just going to stand there?" I stared at him accusingly.

"Well, I was actually just getting an idea."

"What?"

"You'll see." I shook my head and went back to cleaning busily. Some shouting emerged from the back of the Popina, but, as I stopped and watched, Tameri seemed to be having some problem moving them. Their shouts got louder, aggravating my headache. I sighed, putting the dishes down.

"Watch, I'm going to try and be all dramatic and cool then fail miserably." I told Roma as I grabbed a spare stick from behind the counter and went towards the back.

"Don't worry. I'll back you up when you fail." Roma taunted. I nodded at him. Lets see. How did one go around attacking people with sticks? Deciding that if I was going to fail, it would be spectacularly I charged towards the fighters and started attacking them with the stick, yelling incoherently. A few moments later, Roma's grin had turned into all out laughter, as the instigators were cowering in the back from mein sticky friend.

"Behave or get out!" I bellowed at them. They quickly ran, and I turned with a smile to Roma, almost skipping towards him. "Did I do good?"

"Yes, Rio, you did good. And I was thinking... you know how you wanted something to do?"

"Yeees?" I cocked my head on its side. Roma turned to Tameri, who nodded. The customers had resumed eating, the fight only a momentary memory.

"Why don't you help out here?" Tameri asked, eyes blank. Now she wasn't concentrating on anything, I could see the age in her eyes. She was pretty, yes, like Cyanae, but something spoke of an everlasting ache. That's right. Egypt was incredibly old compared to Rome. Which hadn't stopped him, but still.

It wouldn't, actually, be a good idea to help out. I could find work around the Domus, surely, and my stunt with Mr. Stick would likely not be easily repeated. I didn't want to get bogged down with responsibility; I had a terrible memory, I was easily distracted, I couldn't 'read' people. Not the correct attributes to work in a bar. "Sure I'll help out! It'll be fun!"

...

DAMMIT SCUMBUG MOUTH DO WHAT I TELL YOU FOR ONCE ARGHHH.

* * *

'The juice' is opium; they did literally call it 'the juice'. Mandrake is another drug, and yep Romans did mix it into wine, because apparently Romans are drug addicts. They could make practically any herb into a drug. And their method of counting is really cool, though you do get weird looks using it. Urm, I think that Rio would be very unskilled (this is in human, not country, terms) at using any weapon other than firearms, but he is strong compared to a Roman. Maybe she'll get better? Also, I wasn't going to assign a gender to Rio, but I'd be fascinated to know what gender you are perceiving s/he as. Review and be loved!


	11. Carthage

Thanks for reviewing, DoctorWhotaliaandtheOlympian s. It put a smile on my face to know that someone thought my piece was well-written, and thank you for the advice about my summary. (Hope I've improved it!)

* * *

The rest of the serving time passed in a glorious blur of completely forgetting what orders were, and hitting people with sticks. The din from outside filtered in, but it seemed calmer in the cool, the noises more laughter than screams. Roma had joined a weird game which, from a glance, looked like checkers. He appeared to be enjoying himself with his temporary compatriots, as he lost very few games. A few conversations did briefly sift through my mind; some newcomers were informed that this popina differed from regular ones in that its owner, despite being female, was not 'loose'; others talked, though in a catching whisper, that the Germanic tribes of the north were becoming restless; still more, a few women this time, exchanged news and gossip of a senator being accused of dirtying his mouth.

When Tameri declared the Popina shut, and the last drunkard shooed out, Roma gestured us over to his table. "We have business to discuss!" he began. "First, Rio is to work here, yes?"

Tameri nodded. "We would like- no, we really do need a few extra hands here."

"You could of just asked, Tameri-"

"That's Mrs. Hassan to you. Only friends, like Rio, call me Tameri."

Roma attempted to sulk. "Aw... Anyway, I'm sure she can find someone to walk her here-"

"I can find my own way!" Honestly, I wasn't that bad with directions.

"You still get lost around my house! And would you both stop interrupting-"

"That was once!" I yelled, and then absorbed Roma's last statement as he glared at me. "Sorry." I mumbled. I had never said sorry so much before I came here. Was I finally learning manners? Uncle Arthur would be amazed.

"I have to go north to about the Rhine river."

"You're leaving?"

"Are you going to miss me?"

"No. Well, a bit. A lot. Or not at all. I'm really not sure."

Roma chuckled into his wine, which had appeared thanks to Gupta. "That is a very convoluted answer to a very straightforward question."

"Stop asking all these 'straightforward' questions! They make me think!" There was silence, and both adults- they were adults, I kept forgetting that- looked at me with an expectant grin. I wasn't going to get out of this. "We're friends, I'm your 'familiaris', whatever that means. I haven't known you very long, but I've already gotten so used to you always being there for me. So, yes, I will miss you. How long are you going to be?"

Roma was smiling. That annoying smile. "I'll be a few weeks, little familiaris. It's nice to know you're so honest and open." I looked down, muttering. I was not open. I was not honest. What was happening to me? "But I'm thinking that, since we have most of the afternoon left, you and Tameri-"

"Mrs. Hassan."

"You and Mrs. Hassan, and perhaps Mrs. Karpusi, might want to join me in one of my favourite places? We can drop the children off at my Domus, if you like."

I looked at Tameri, who concurred. "Me and Cyanae haven't taken time off in ages. A break might be nice, and as it signals time spent away from you, it will be especially nice." Roma's smile grew, ignoring Tameri's gibe. They certainly had an interesting relationship. Did Gupta even know that Roma was his father? From the impression I had received earlier, it seemed that both had loved Roma to begin with, but something went wrong, and badly so. However, they all seemed to like each other? Adults are complicated.

"Hang on, I'm going with you instead of the other children?"

"Rio, you're many things, but I don't think anyone here thinks of you as a child."

"Awww." I pouted.

"Well, except for some times."

I tried to figure out whether I was a child or an adult. I quickly gave up."To Cyanae's!" I declared, standing up. Gupta pulled his mother's sleeve and whispered in her ear. She shook her head, making Gupta sad; but he followed us out onto the streets.

"So you're going to lead us to Cyanae's, Rio?" Roma teased.

"No." I declared, and went behind Roma. The streets were quite busy, and I was appreciative of Roma's presence. I noticed that there were more horses here, perhaps because it was closer to the outskirts? Either way, we quickly reached Cyanae's. Roma stopped us going in for a moment, and we all peeked in to see what he saw. Cyanae was there, reclining on a chair, with Heracles on her lap, and there was a glow surrounding them, like an invisible ocean. Peace emanated. I looked at Roma, and he had a very peaceful, very cheerful expression on his face. I had never seen that expression before, not just on him but on anyone- he was completely unaware of his surroundings, just watching his... his love? I waved my hand in front of his face a few times before he reacted. "Why did you two break up again?"

Cyanae heard me speak, and turned towards us. Tameri elegantly glided towards her. "Cyanae, qrH, why don't you join me, Roma, and Rio for the afternoon? Roma has offered to let us leave the children at his Domus. It is to celebrate- excuse me, to acknowledge, that Roma is to leave tomorrow."

"That sounds enchanting." Cyanae said after a pause to examine Heracles for a silent agreement. "But where are we going?" It seemed that mixing the three together brought out the royalty in them.

"I was considering the Campus Maritus?" Roma suggested, equally graceful.

"An excellent choice." The children and I exchanged looks, confused about the level of conversation emerging. "Shall we go?" We followed the adults out, who were arm in arm, chatting; Roma still had a very enchanted look on his face. The children and I began to discuss whose mother would win in a fight, though by the time we reached the Domus it had changed into a conversation about the best colour of dog. The children were playing outside, watched over by Laura, who stood up when she met us, and checked for me, relaxing slightly when she saw me. Roma noticed and tousled my hair.

"Yes, she's okay." He said, as I scowled and blocked my head from the vicious attack. The children ran to greet me, and Heracles. They didn't seem to know Gupta so well, but a few overlapping questions later and he was easily accepted. "May I offer you a drink, Cyanae, Tameri? It is quite a walk, and it is very hot today."

Cyanae and Tameri, having forgotten about their insistence on last names, gratefully accepted and were led inside by the children. "What? I don't get a drink?" I complained, going after them, but was halted by Laura.

"Look, Rio, you've caused everyone a lot of trouble today."

"What? Well, I guess so. I'm not normally such a clutz..."

"You aren't?" Laura was acting stern, out of character for her. Glancing nervously inside, I knew that all I had to do was yell or go past and it wouldn't matter. But, because I'm selfish like that, I wanted to gain Laura's admiration. I'm quite a little kid sometimes, aren't I?

"No. I'm sorry. To tell you the truth, back home-" Here I did my best to not sound like an old man reminiscing over the past- "I wasn't the best at anything I did, but I tended to be pretty close."

Laura continued staring, and I got the impression that I was being tested. I stared back. Then she smiled, a peculiar little smile. "You are quite open for a boy, Rio."

"Am not." I protested, and was pushed inside by Laura. "What, if I wasn't a clutz, you wouldn't like me?" I watched her back through the door.

"I would, actually. I just wanted to hear that you were sorry." I continued walking inside, seeking a drink and possibly bread. They were in the indoor garden, reclining in the shade, while Atanas served them wine. How could two women, who I had previously taken for low class, look so refined? Elizabeta's guess- that they were queens- didn't seem that far off. "Drink?" I asked. "Or bread?"

"Ah yes, Vladimir, can you get us some water?"

"What, I don't get wine? Humph." Vlad chuckled and I drank the water quickly offered. "Thank you, Vovoshenka." I gazed around me with half-closed lids, letting the cool water, with that lovely sweetness of lead, trickle down my throat. _I wonder if Sadiq is all right?_

After a few moments of relaxation, I was dragged out onto the streets, and we started the long walk to the... Campus? That is what I was told, when I asked again. Tameri and Cyanae seemed more relaxed, and I became more and more curious about them, and I began to wonder if they had known Sadiq, and his friend... Hyrum? But I didn't want to ask with Roma there. We reached the Campus, but the time had passed, with the sun just close enough to the horizon to send off a hint of orange. As a result, there were fewer people there, and the more frail had gone home.

How to describe the Campus? Big, would be an exact and useful place to start. Its size was truly impressive. From the hillside we had emerged, it looked several times larger than the baths we had visited yesterday, and it was far quieter. Well, no, it wasn't. How to describe it? Each shout, each exclamation and order, was swallowed up by the size, and even if it was close enough, was more reverent. It was mostly grass, but I could see people training on what looked like a sand area, and there were several statues and frescoes and pools laid out.

"This is my- sorry, this is Rome's most sacred place. When we became an empire, this area was dedicated to Mars- why it's called Campus Maritus, of course. It's where most youngsters do their training. That's the Tiber-" he pointed to the river that wound to the left and in front of us "It marks the boundary to the west. The Servius hill is to the north- and you're not listening are you." I whooped as I rolled down the hill. This was great! Cyanae joined me, and passed me as I accidentally rolled into a tree. I moved away and followed Cyanae down the rest of the hill. Tameri followed us, more reposed but not by much but Roma was accosted by a soldier-type person, who demanded to know Things. "I'll join you in a moment!" he yelled after us. A bit further on, we stopped moving, me with the help of crashing into Cyanae, and we sat down to have a break.

"So I had someone to ask you about. Do you know... Hyrum?" I'm fairly sure that Hyrum was Carthage.

Tameri and Cyanae shared a glance. "Well, yes, very much so. It's a long story, though."

"Please tell me? I want to know, because, you know, Sadiq."

"Oh? Does someone have a crush on a little Anatolian?"

"...No!"_ Maybe a little bit..._ "But I don't like seeing someone so scared and alone."

They sighed, (Simultaneously, I swear!) and Cyanae began the tale. "When I was very young, and I had never met Roma, or Tameri, I knew an older boy, Hyrum. Now Hyrum... he was an incredible boy. Very smart, very curious, about everything and anything. Came from a land called Phoenicia- well, that was my peoples name for it, I don't know what he called it. He was the one who taught me how to write, and for a small part he did look after me, but only when I promised to teach him things about my land. He grew up, and created an empire in the Middle East with his friend Sadiq, as I grew up in Greece. But then he and Sadiq got into an argument about their business, and it drove them apart. Hyrum moved to the northern edge of Africa- but that's where I lose track of him for a while I was growing up then, see, and there were so many things to explore and philosophize about. I didn't keep track of friends then."

"Carthage child." Tameri spoke up suddenly. "That's when I first knew him, and how; Carthage was to the north and west of us, bordering the ocean. He came filled with tales and ideas, and started trading until he practically controlled the Mediterranean. Very cocky, but very nice at the same time. He geniuinly thought he was incredible, but always wanted to learn more, so it was very hard to be mad at him. Had the best navy in the world, the likes of which you have never seen." No comment on that. "He looked sort of like Sadiq, now I think about it, but with hair always worn long. Always talked about Sadiq as well. I think he missed him. Anyway, it was about then that he ran into Roma. They coexisted relatively peacefully for a while, but then they clashed on that island- oh, what was it called?"

"Sicily. Part of Carthage. Hyrum lost that war badly."

"I know, poor child. He lost Sicily, Cordonia, and Sardinia, I think. That couldn't get him down, however. He rebuilt his empire, stronger focus on military, and asked for a very special persons help. Hannibal. And Hannibal was a brilliant fighter. He used these creatures- looked like our... elephants? Except with larger ears. Oh, you should have seen them- like horses, except much larger, and grey, and-"

"I've seen them before." I interrupted. They were forgetting that I wasn't supposed to know that Hyrum was a Country.

"You have? Really?"

"Uhuh. Finish?" I asked before they got distracted.

"Oh yes." Cyanae hesitated for a few moments before continuing. "They lost again- it was a terrible war, both sides slaughtering thousands. Roma took Hyrum as a slave. It was at about this time that Sadiq was captured as well, so that was a nice twist in the sad plot. Hyrum seemed calmer after that, and helped calm Sadiq, assuring him that as long as they lived, all would be good. On bad days, they would cuddle up together."

"But that didn't get him down." Tameri repeated. "Hyrum wanted to be free, and eventually Roma murdered him." We sat in silence in our circle for a while, the depressing narrative wafting to an end. "That's when Sadiq started acting up, and about when we left."_  
_

"Murdered? Roma is a murderer?" Murdering a country, I knew, was much different than murdering a country. Murdering a country meant destroying every building they had ever built, burning their literature, killing nearly everyone and selling the rest as slaves.

"Why don't we go for a walk, Rio? Just you and me." I jumped then, and I swear Tameri and Cyanae also did, and turned around slowly to see Roma standing there, unreadable expression on his face. I sort of stared for a few moments, and then did another jump when I realized what he'd said, quickly standing up.

"Ah, Cyanae... Tameri..."

"Go on." Cyanae shrugged, expressing an air of laboured leisure.

Roma placed a hand on my shoulder and steered me away from them. After we were out of earshot, he sighed, relaxing his grip. "You could of asked me." He said reproachfully.

"But you wouldn't be as neutral, and I wanted to know more about his history. How long were you listening?"

"Since you talked about the Second Punic War." At my confused look, he clarified "When I captured Hyrum."

"So are you going to give me your side?"

"Aren't you feeling bold? I suppose. He was threatening Rome with his empire. It was a case of one could survive."

"But... killing him?"

"Don't be naïve. I don't like to kill my slaves, but Rio, sometimes one needs to kill." Those words sent a shiver down my spine. We were on top of another hill, overlooking a military exercise involving horses. I was trying not to look at Roma, but I couldn't help but take a peek- he was watching the soldiers because he knew exactly what they were doing.

"Roma, you killed him.

"I'm a soldier."

"They're the same."

"A soldier seeks to preserve something important in my case, it's my home and empire. Try to understand my perspective."

"I'll try, but it's hard." The silence grew again, and Roma put his arm around me in a weird side hug. "I've never killed someone like that." I wasn't really thinking straight- I didn't realize that statment would sound strange to someone who wasn't a country.

"Do you think you could do me a favour, my little familiaris?"

"Sure?"

"Do you think you could do what you did last night?"

"What, cuddle with Sadiq? I thought-"

"I want him to obey me. I think, right now, that'll be best achieved if he stays with you. This is on the condition that Sadiq is never alone except when he's in his room, yes?"

"Sure!"

"That's my familiaris. And, another thing- you've never disobeyed my orders, so I can't help but trust you, but I trust Dacia even more than you. Which means that if he thinks you've done something wrong, he's allowed to punish you as he sees fit."

"What?"

"Well, I do control your country."

"Sorry, again, what?"

"Oh come now Rio, you think I wouldn't have noticed that you were a country? I could feel it when we wrestled, I could see it in your eyes when you talked about your home. Or actually, you're a state, as I believe you mentioned." He turned me to him, a hand on each of my shoulders, and looked me in the eye. "Now, I'm not going to go after this 'Youess', because they are too far away to be useful for me, but you? You're mine. My little Familiaris. Have you figured out what that means? A domestic slave."

"So when you adopted me..." I was afraid.

"I'm sure you've realized that every person at my house is a country, and Tameri and Cyanae are as well. This-" He grabbed me close with one arm and used the other to gesture out of the city, to the world beyond "Is what the humans believe is my empire-" He turned us, gesturing towards the city "This is what they believe is my heart." He took one of my hands and placed it on his chest. "But my heart is here. And my empire is my Domus. Do you understand?"

"I understand that you don't understand!"

"What more is there to understand?"

"I can't be conquered by you! I need to go home!"

"Rio, you can't. You'll be too far away for me to rule you." He drew me tight into a hug. I tried to push away but he didn't let go. "You're going to stay here." Eventually I gave up. This was wrong. I should be trying to escape. But there was no way out. I stopped fighting back, but remained tense. "It's alright, Rio. I'm not going to do anything to you that you don't deserve or don't want. You can have your own culture and ideas. You just have to do what I say, and you know I don't ask much."

"I know." I whispered. I felt like such a girl, seeking comfort in my captor. This way too girly. "Now please let me go." I said in my normal voice.

Roma broke the silence, and the darkness, and everything bad, just with his chuckle. "Come on, let's leave these talks of death and slavery alone, and go enjoy ourselves." So we did.

Okay, I'll be more descriptive, especially so no perverted minds get perverted ideas. We went back to Cyanae and Tameri, and straddled the line between dignified adults and children. The Campus was truly a place to enjoy yourself and mess around; me and Roma went another round, which I lost, and he and Tameri attempted to teach me how to use a stick more efficiently. It didn't go well, and I found myself severely prodded. They also attempted to get me on a horse borrowed from military-folk, which also did not go well. I don't like horses, but I ended up sitting behind Tameri, clutching on to her very tightly, as she raced Cyanae and Roma. Overall, however, I did enjoy myself, even when I was feeling nauseous from the horse racing. We watched the sun set over the Tiger, and I couldn't help but feel content, and we all felt, and this I could tell you for certain, that this was a perfect moment. To our left was the magnificent city, the sun illuminating the green of temple tops, bouncing away with the golden statues that stood on top of them, and sinking into the terracotta of the other buildings. Green and gold and red and white; that was Rome. The air was clear and sharp, warm with the slightest hint of a cool breeze. The moon had already risen, and watching the others, I thought of the concept of doublethink.

The three knew that their goddesses were the moon, and yet they also knew the moon was a bright orb in the sky that circled the earth; I could have never thought that way, with my sense of modern thinking which tried to make sense of everything. _Sometimes_, I thought, _it is best to accept things as they are, and enjoy their beauty. And then figure out why later._

* * *

Roma is playing ludus Latrunculorum. qrH is sort of ancient Egyptian for an incredibly close friend. Anatolia is Turkey's birth-name. If Rio knew more about horses, she would have noticed the primitive saddles and the fact the horses were about the size of large ponies, and not as elegant as some horses nowadays. Roma is strange for a 'soldier', because Generals and Royalty (except Roman) and Governors aren't allowed in Central Rome. When the senator is accused of dirtying his mouth, they mean (and I'm not making this up, this was how they referred to it, and it was a huge insult) doing certain things to a lady with the aforementioned mouth. Rome really did do these things to Carthage.


	12. Sleep

I'm baaaack~ Did you miss me? I missed me. Unfortunately I must plead the usual excuses of lack of time and such. But don't worry! I'll have the story finished by the end of March, and most likely the end of February. I've gone and rewritten some bits so that it is revealed that everyone is a country, because I saw several plot holes impending which I wished to avoid, if any of my old readers are like 'WTF just happened?!' Something else I've noticed is that I've spent so much time exploring the world of Ancient Rome I haven't actually gotten the plot along very far- I'm only about a third through the story, and I haven't even introduced three of the central characters! So I'm going to start speeding up.

* * *

And so we headed back, my mind clouded with contrasting emotions. I continued to muse over the unwanted realization that I was ruled over; that I no longer had the say in what my life was like. Tameri and Cyanae knew something had happened, that my interactions with Roma were stiffer than normal, but the problem was, I still enjoyed Roma's company. He may be power-hungry, but he was genuinely caring, understanding, nice- the positive adjectives go on and on. I would beware Stockholm syndrome if I had started to care after being under his control for a while, but I had liked him before I realized I was subordinate. Roma had invited Tameri and Cyanae around for dinner; he said he wanted to share dinner with them before he left. Of course, the subtext that all heard was that he wanted his entire family, his empire, with him- but that was ignored in favor of a nice meal and the chance to see the rest of the family, the ones that they still liked. Besides, Roma could be quite convincing when he wanted to be. I was actually surprised that they had consented to coming at all- surely they must be wary of becoming addicted to his charm.  
The night was unfamiliarly dark, the only light coming from establishments of variable disreputableness and a few lanterns hung on street corners, sheening the brushed flagstones, turning from simple tetra-cotta to fancier stone as we turned from the poorer areas into the richer. We passed by a quiet garden or two, dotted with thieves and moonstruck young couples and prostitutes, still a place of verdant rest in the city. This was not to say it was silent; on the contrary, jarring shouts, footsteps and horse-steps, marked the deliveries of the night.  
Sadiq. That was the second issue that I had to consider. I felt it was my responsibility to help him recover- perhaps a ridiculous idea, but everyone else was busy and Roma had said I should. I don't think I had ever met him in the future- I knew he was a country, probably Turkey? But as a mere state, I hadn't really gone to any meetings. Greece didn't like him? I honestly had no idea how he would act like in the future, though I knew in his current time he seemed to lack lucidity. I suppose he could help out with Tameri's popina, if he proved to be adept at interactions.  
A familiar light, a familiar view. Home, some small part of me whispered, ignored. Slipping in, we experienced one more moment of precocious silence.  
"YOU'RE BAAAAAAAACK!" An innocent attack from the right- a wave of children crashed around me, sweeping me off my feet. Spluttering to air, I discovered that Vash, Roderich, and Elizabeta- her knife dangerously close to my throat- were hugging me in the manner of barnacles. The others had found their appropriate children attacking in much the same way, while a partially apologetic Abel stood behind them, failing to conceal a smile twitching his mouth. "You're back you're back you're back!" squealed Feliciano, now revealed to be the source of the noise.  
"Did someone give you honey?" Roma had allowed the tide of his grandchildren to bring him to his knees, but at this point he stood. His question was directed more towards Abel.  
"No sir, however we'd put dinner on hold until you arrived."  
"Right then! Let us go feast! Everyone shall join, yes?" He swept up Feliciano and the other children began trailing behind him, Gupta and Heracles after a nod from their respective parents.  
"Of course, sir." Abel walked ahead, presumably to inform whoever was cooking.  
"Does that include Sadiq?" My voice was quieter than I anticipated- however at the words most hushed, all eyes on Roma.  
"Why do you care for him so much, Rio?" Roma had stiffened slightly, still facing away. "I might get jealous, you know."  
I was hesitant to respond, feeling a slight touch of fear that I had encountered earlier. "I don't know. Because he needs to be cared for?" How girly, I thought. Next thing you know I'll be wearing jewelry and makeup. I'm already sort of wearing a dress. "You don't really need to. You've got your entire family."  
There was silence.  
And then he turned around, ripping apart the silence with a laugh as he broke into a smile. He never created things, it seemed to me. He just broke- whether it be sadness or awkwardness or countries or people. "That's my little Rio. Always such a mother- you'll make a fine wife some day." He tussled my hair, drawing me into a mildly awkward side hug. "Of course he can! You run along and fetch him."  
"I don't want to be a wife!" I complained, as Roma released me to walk off. Well, I'd planned to walk off, but Francis and Antonio had decided to help, so rushed in front of me. As I can not resist such a challenge, I ended up racing with them, carousing through the halls, collecting a mildly confused Carol as we went.  
Arriving at the door, we stopped, silence draping once again. We were unsure as to how he would react. Carol's fingers itched towards the door, but he restrained himself. I creaked the door open, humming the Indiana Jones theme to myself.  
Thankfully, it seemed Sadiq was in one of his better states of mind. He was leaning against the wall, magnifying omniscient insignificance. "Sadiq?" I asked quietly. He actually turned his head to face me-a good sign, or so I hoped. I moved towards him, steps of thunder in the silence, and held out a hand. "Come on!" I urged when he seemed confused. He touched my hand, and I pulled him up. I held his hand and smiled. "Its all right. Everything is all right. You're going to see it again."  
"Why are you talking to me like I'm a child?" He looked down at me, annoyed.  
"Because you keep kahrolası asking like one, ahmak." I spat back.  
"Don't cuss at me genç!  
"Oh shut it. I see you're in a right mood today." I pulled him out, and he offered no resistance until we reached the door, where Carol and the children were failing to conceal laughter.  
"We're going out?" he asked hesitantly.  
"Yep."

"You'll be fine." I smiled in an attempt to reassure. "Roma said it's okay."  
His grip tightened. "Is this just a trick by that göt deli-"  
"No. No its not. I asked him to let you out. I don't like seeing you alone."  
He glared at me thankfully. "Fine."  
And so we stepped into the light (or rather the dimness of the domus). Despite Sadiq's insistence on ignoring fragility, he didn't let go of my hand, and I managed to see him properly for the first time.  
He was a tall man, and while right now he was skinny and pale, it was clear he used to be tan and probably fairly strong. Actually, man is a bit of an over-exaggeration- he seemed to be in his twenties. Brown eyes. When we walked into the light of the ambulation, his other hand instinctively covered his face. A curious habit?  
The garden was filled with a festive aura, everyone neglecting the table for spreading out on the grass. I noticed a distinct lack of 'sir' a word normally quite common, as Roma allowed all the children to play over and around him, and chatted warmly with Vladimir, who appeared to have just woken up, and Atanas. Even Abel was talking, through prodding by Tameri and Cyanae, who seemed intent on getting a reaction.  
Laura appeared at the garden entrance. "Dinner is ready, but I will need help serving," she commanded, and most raced to help her- except for Roma and his grandchildren (Well, apart from Francis, who, like me, sought out a chance to grab some bread). The dishes with which I was loaded down with had the odd paradox of being familiar and unusual simultaneously. When we arrived at the garden, with both Francis and I having consumed liberal amounts of bread, we spread the food on its plates all over the garden, and various people leapt on it, trading plates as wanted.  
I found myself sprawled out on my back, plate resting on my stomach, next to Sadiq, who had found a shadow to lurk in, eating his food hesitantly. Whenever I wanted different food, not knowing the names of anything, I just tossed my plate to someone else and tried theirs. Roman food was not unlike Italian- there were meatballs- but I noticed a distinct lack of pasta. Had it not been invented yet? But the most unassimilated thing about the food I was given, I think, apart from the flamingo, was the contrasting tasted of sweet and bitter. Or perhaps it was how when you mixed to things together- dunking something in wine, for example- a third flavour arose. Nevertheless, I found it to be tasty in its own unique way, and also found that the bread was simply marvelous, as normal. Francis predicted that I would attempt to hoard it, and so preemptively consumed it predatorily- but I was comfortable where I was, coaxing some lazy conversation out of Sadiq, who still smelled like he hadn't washed in months (though I suppose the reason for that was obvious)  
"I see you two are getting along fine." Roma did his usual trick of appearing behind us, causing Sadiq to snarl and whip around.  
"What do you want, Roma?" I put a warning hand his arm. When he ignored it I tackled him to the ground.  
"Well, we have spent some time together." Sadiq didn't look to happy. "Stop being such an ahmak!" I said to him, grunting towards the end when he landed a particularly nasty kick. "I think we're becoming quite good friends, Roma."  
"Of course." Roma nodded with fake graveness. "It's quite apparent." I let Sadiq up and he looked mildly miffed at me. My attention was directed at Roma, so Sadiq's return tackle was mildly unexpected. After a small chuckle, Roma left us trying to murder each other.  
After four children had yawned in unison, it was unanimously unclamorously declared that it was time for bed. Roma naturally invited Tameri and Cyanae to stay- I have no doubt they would have refused, except going home would have most likely meant being mugged.  
"Come on, Elizabeta." Atanas awoke the girl who had fallen asleep in the corner. Roma headed to his room, while I took Sadiq's hand and followed everyone upstairs. Abel went to his normal post by the door, and Vlad also went out- presumably to make deliveries or whatever his nighttime job was.  
It seemed all the beds (well, that's a bit of an over-exaggeration) for the slaves were in the same room. Perhaps it would have been uncomfortable and cold, except the feeling of general sleepiness and companionship warmed the room. Plus the fact that I ended up cuddling with Sadiq again. He was grumblingly muttering when I took over his bed, but both of us needed another in order to sleep.  
Facing away from him, I drowsily watched the others, waiting for sleep to bury. I found it took longer for me than the others- I was stressing again, over the entire concept of slavery. Now that it was applied to me, I found myself increasingly curious about the slaves perspective, and how I would escape. Right then I could not fathom the concept of staying in this life with a controller. Even the word tasted bitter.  
And then my ruminations were broken by the breaker- it had taken a while for me to notice, but a hint of air had approached, the only indication that a figure had approached. I tensed, then realized the intruder was Roma. He glided around the room, checking on each of the adults and touching the children's hair softly, not even Laura, with her constant alert, noticed him. Sadiq and I were the last people he went too- I shut my eyes hurriedly, listening intently. After a few moments, when I perceived that he had touched Sadiq, he touched my hair, and then I felt a soft sigh in my ear. "Try and sleep, little Rio. You're going to have a busy day tomorrow." I smiled at that, but did not open my eyes.  
When he had left, or so I thought, my ruminations commenced, but with a lighter tone. A family member, called a slave, was still just as cared for. He treated us not like we were below him, but as if we were part of him.

* * *

RIGHT. In the interests of not mary-suing that much, Rio speaks English and Spanish fluently. She has basic knowledge of other Romance languages, and can swear in every language you can think of. All Turkish words are curse words. As normal, reviews are loved, appreciated, and generally well enjoyed.


	13. Working at Egypts

Did I use the pronoun 'she'? I'm sorry *sweatdrop* I was thinking from Roma's perspective at the time... I'm not going to reveal Rio's gender so undramatically!

I was awoken the following morning by the sound of children- that sounds so dreadfully pleasant, but I assure you its one of the worst sounds possible, especially when the children are squawking incoherently. I blearily blinked, and Sadiq shook me awake.

I sniffed. "Bath." Wrinkling my nose, I pulled away, standing up with an effort- Sadiq's stench was becoming unbearable. The room quickly depopulated as people rushed to their various jobs, and as we left we noticed a sleepy Vlad and Abel slink towards the room. Vlad saw me and motioned for me to come over. "Yes?"

"Are you going to be leaving?"

"Going to the baths, and later Tameri's popina."

Vlad looked at me, blinking slightly. "That's fine. Here's ten denari to pay for both of you, and a load or something when you get hungry, Roma's treat. Just be sure to check in when you get back." He punctuated this remark with a yawn, and then he dragged himself off to sleep.

"Hey, Sadiq, you know where everything is?" He nodded. Neither of us felt like talking, but communication was necessary on my end. "Lets go grab you some clothes, then. I need some more too." After mutedly collecting a pair of fresh tunics from a small chest- Sadiq explained it was his- we discovered Tameri and Gupta stealing some fruit to take with them. "So I'm going to go to the baths with Sadiq- When should I head to your Popina?"

"You've figured out where both the baths and our Popina is?" Gupta was astonished- exceptionally so to get so many words out of him.

"Well, Sadiq knows where the baths are-"

"Unlike you, I can actually find my way around."

"But I'm sure I can work out where your Popina is!"

Tameri sighed. "Sadiq, you know where the park on Sampietri is?"

"Naturally."

"Be there about half way through the sixth hour."

I sulked silently as I realized my glorious concept of looking after Sadiq was being quickly and upsettingly reversed. Ignoring this, we headed out to the baths after following Tameri's example and stealing some food. (Bread in my case, naturally)

The routine was much the same as last time, so I shall skip it. Sadiq did keep covering his face, though. After we were finished cleaning, but before we left the main building, Sadiq pointed out we had nearly an hour left, and recommended we go see a play. I was naturally confused, but he took me by the hand and led me to a theatre. Because yes, they had a theatre in the bath buildings. Regeneration for not just the body, but the mind. I mused.

We settled down near the middle of an amphitheatre, already casually filled with people like us, mostly of egyptian origin. This was possibly because the play appeared to be a traditionally egyptian one, already partially finished. The actors did not move much, relying more on loudly spoken words and their costumes- some were incredibly fanciful, but others were just as plain, or tattered. I thought that they must have originally had a full set of elaborate costumes, but over time, they were replaced by whatever they could find.

While they were speaking latin, it was strongly tainted, and me and Sadiq had problems figuring out what was going on. Looking around, I noticed a family sitting not far in front of us, and moved down a few seats towards them. After listening to their explanations, thankfully childishly simplistic, I scooted back to Sadiq.

"That guy is Seth, and that guy is Horus, and they're trying to figure out who's going to take Osiris thrones. Its just a simplistic theatrical play." I whispered. Just then, a women went and stripped on stage. "And now I have no idea what's going on again."

After eavesdropping on the conversations around us, our furtive scooting led to first, a fairly good understanding of what was going on, and second, the knowledge that this was boring, but traditional.

Sadiq seemed distracted. "What are you thinking of?" I leaned over, questioning in my normal voice as, by this point, everyone was talking.

"They're wearing... masks, right?"

"Yes? Have you never seen a mask before or something?"

"No, I have, it's just they're unfamiliar to my culture...What is their purpose?"

"In theatre?" I leaned back, thinking in an attempt to give a good answer. "To display a different person. I mean, that really is the whole point of acting- giving an entirely new impression of oneself based solely on different actions. Masks just help."

"I need one."

"What?"

"I need a mask."

"Okay? Why?"

Sadiq became more serious. "Because I need to hide. Because the light is too bright and people can see me and I don't want it."

I had forgotten about that. However, I attempted to take his strange request and thoughts in stride. "So do you want to buy one or steal one?"

"...lets steal one."

We spent the last moments of the play figuring which mask we wanted to take.

"Look at that hippopotamus one!" he pointed to a particularly fancy one worn by Seth.

"You'd look stupid."

"I'm going to be wearing a mask!"

"Lets not make it a stupid one. What about that one?" I pointed to a plainer one, Orisis's, that reminded me distinctly of Phantom of the Opera. Probably not intentional?

"No. No way. A broken mask? Only covers one eye, as well." We were silent for a few moments, until an epiphany struck Sadiq.

"That one." He pointed directly to one that was worn by one of the underlings. "I need that one."

"What? That one looks even dumber-"

"It needs to be that one." I looked at the mask, and shrugged. It was incredibly plain, just a white eye mask. But to each their own, I suppose.

The play had finished, but while most left, we loitered, attempting to unsuspiciously spy on the actors, acting relaxed. They headed right. When the last had left, we scrambled out and around, then returned to our natural state as they walked past us. "What should we do now?" asked one to the other. "Do you fancy leaving?"

Sadiq walked up behind them; "I think we should take a bath." he scuttled away.

"Oh that would work." Another said, looking around for the source of the suggestion- thankfully we were sufficiently far away that they did not suspect us.

"Okay, a bath." the suggestion spread throughout the group, and they all headed to the main bath building, one collecting enough money from the members and what they had made and distributing it out. It annoyed us to have to spend money to get inside again, but Sadiq pointed out this would be a lot cheaper than attempting to buy one. When we entered and headed to the changing room, we casually began to partially strip.

"Make sure you have all your props- we have to do this play later." One turned to the slave there whose job was to guard clothing in exchange for coins, and began handing him money. This was our chance!

I casually picked up the mask, and after exclaiming about the time, pointing to an invisible watch before remembering that they hadn't been invented yet, and headed out 'unobtrusively' with Sadiq. As soon as we had left, we increased our pace, leading to a half run when we heard a commotion from behind us.

By the time we had left, we were approaching a slow run. Going around a corner, Sadiq tied on his mask and turned to me.

"What do you think?"

I wavered to give an answer. The mask gave his eyes the impression of being empty and dark, almost soul sucking. To be honest, though, it was surprisingly natural on him. He still looked very skinny, his brownish tunic hanging off him, but due to two good meals and a good clean and oil, his natural colour was beginning to return. I suppose it made him look more exotic? It was confusing. "It looks fine. How do you feel?"

He waved a hand in front of his face and blinked once or twice. "I feel...relaxed. At peace. It feels amazing."

"That's good." I tried to refrain from using my 'you-are-completely-crazy' voice. "We'll get going, then?"

He nodded, a persistent smile forming.

As we walked to the park, I curiously paid close attention to the reactions of people. Surely a random guy in a mask was strange? However, he was merely ignored, treated as normal. Then again, this city was multicultural, with egyptians and nordics and saxons mingling freely.

Have I said how much I love the parks here? How they are so separate from the noise of the city, yet so close? Rome was an exceedingly dirty place in its poorer locations, but most streets were clean, most buildings, while not constructed as art, were not the ugliest, especially as there was a red stripe about shoulder height along all the buildings. I wonder why?

"Rio." Gupta was slightly less enthusiastic at speaking as Heracles, a smaller smile,but he still found it necessary to attack my legs with great gusto.

"Hello, Gupta." I greeted him, kneeling down. Gupta hugged me, and then looked up at Sadiq, and his miniature (cute!) smile collapsed into fear.

"You're Gupta, right?" Sadiq smiled. Gupta shuddered and buried his head into my leg. Sadiq frowned. "What's wrong?" he bent down, but at his touch Gupta yelped and ran back to his mother.

"I guess your mask scares him. Its quite a nice one, by the way." Tameri swept up Gupta, causing him to give a slight giggle. "Did you steal it?"

"Maaaybe..." "Weeeell..." Sadiq and I said at the same time.

"You did. Something, I should comment, that I quite understand. Gupta, he's alright." Tameri cooed to her son, and he gradually turned his face to Sadiq, who twitched his mouth into a hesitant grin.

"Are you sure?" Gupta tugged at his mother's clothes.

"Of course! Besides, Rio would stop him from doing anything bad, right?"

"Pff." Sadiq crossed his arms. "Like she could stop me." Gupta looked frightened for a few moments, until I grabbed Sadiq and ruffled his hair.

"Don't worry! I'll keep him under control." I grinned while Sadiq scowled and pushed me away.

"I swear you're turning into Roma." Tameri joked.

I clasped my heart, offended. Gupta had wiggled his way out of his mothers arms, and was curiously touching Sadiq's mask.

We walked- well, Sadiq and Tameri walked, me and Gupta skipped- to the popina. Tameri opened the slats, noting with approval that Vladimir had refilled the amphorae. It was just before midday- people had been up and about for a while, but were not in a hungry mood yet. Tameri sent me and Gupta to do a quick cleaning while she told Sadiq his job.

And so the days passed, memories of the future sliding away. Each day turned into a beat of a pleasant rhythm, starting and ending about the same.

Me and Sadiq would be woken up by the sound of children, or, if we missed that alarm, Vlad gently shaking us, and if that still didn't work, Abel volunteered his services of kicking us awake. After that, we mostly messed around- helping Atanas and Carol cleaning, playing with the children, going to the baths, before we walked (well, Sadiq led me) to Tameri's popina. Gupta would be quietly washing the dishes while Tameri sat behind the counter taking payments and managing the store. At first, she had insisted on helping me and Sadiq with the tables, but we had eventually worn her down with gentle assurances. Every day that passed she seemed more frail. I did enjoy working with Tameri. She wasn't really my boss, though whenever I needed a question asking I naturally turned to her. We were still a bit stretched, though nothing compared to poor Cyanae, who we did occasionally help out.

Gupta got taller, which he proudly measured as 3 feet, 5 digits, and compared to Heracles. Sadiq- well, he didn't grow taller like a child, but he definitely gave the impression of being taller, the way he held himself less hunched, 'filling out' to how he must have looked before. He still acted... strange... and the times when we were furthest apart he became exceptionally snappy, a hint of violence, though that grew less. Vlad would occasionally visit with some of the children, or Vash and Roderic h would come by themselves. After work, we generally went to the baths, or visited one of the parks with Cyanae and Heracles, before splitting ways. Back at home, it was time for dinner, a play fight or two, then snuggling up to Sadiq like a puppy and conking out. Nice and relaxing, I was beginning to see why Italy acted like this.

For each Nundinae, Sadiq and I would take some of the popina's money and go with some of the household to the market, picking up both basic foods and a small treat or so. I enjoyed these opportunities, because they meant I had a better chance of seeing, well, seeing amazing things. Animals sold that I hadn't seen even in the best zoos, people whose races now ceased to exist. Except by that time I had stopped thinking in that manner, of 'this is past'. It was a subtle change, one I did not really pay much attention to, but it had started off as 'in the future', and then I forgot to think about the future at all. At least my latin had improved considerably?

It was about... oh, twenty nundinae? Half a year, I would say, half a year later.

We were eating breakfast outside in the garden. I was sprawled out on the grass next to Carol, which Lovino and Feliciano had taken as an invitation to scramble across my stomach when chasing each other. Elizabeta was taking to Sadiq, who seemed to have taken a liking to her. As it was not that sort of liking, no one cared. Roderich was playing on his lyre nearby, with Vash and Atanas sitting next to him, just listening. Antonio was playing with a toy boat, then attacking Francis for stealing it.

There was a yell. The tone was immediately identifiable as Lauras, causing half of us to sit up, alert, and a clash from upstairs, presumably Abel. She yelled again, and it was a shriek of delight. We were still fairly alert- Laura was not of a hysterical nature- we heard Abel race towards the front. Then we heard him laugh, a relieved laugh.

I was curious enough to get up and head inside at this point, but before I could, I saw Laura half race into the garden, an unusual smile on her face, followed by Abel and Roma.

"Roma!" "Grandpa!" "Sir!"

It was... actually, it was everyone except Sadiq, Atanas, and Carol, who ran over to Roma and hugged him. He tussled everyones hair and kissed everyones faces, gazing at his empire affectionately. Well, except for me. He gave me a vaguely blank look.

"Who...?"

"Rio!" I yelled, head butting him.

It took him a few moments to respond, but then he hugged me back, a big bear hug. "Rio! I remember you! The pretty girl from Youess! Hey, Atanas! Carol! Get over here!"

A few extended group hugs later, we finally broke apart. (Sadiq was still glowering in a corner.)

"How was it?" Carol started blabbering. "Did you get hurt? Was it difficult? Who- Who is that?" He pointed behind Roma to someone I hadn't seen before. A small boy with red eyes and silver hair, rebellious looking, hands bound together.

"Hmm?" Roma asked, then put his hand on the boys shoulder, causing him to flinch. "This is my new territory from Germania. Gilbert."

FINALLY I GET TO GILBERT! FINALLY!


End file.
